California Quail (Callipepla californica)

Other Names (World)
California Quail, Californian Quail, Plumed Quail, Valley Quail

Family
Odontophoridae (New World Quails)

Size
24 - 27 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Shaw, 1798)

Derivation
Cal-li-pep-la - Gk, callus, ?; Gk, peplos, robe: californica - N.L., of California (Monterey)

Abundance (Guide)
LC

Fairly common on King Island. Probably extinct on the Australian mainland.

Habitat
Open country with shrubs and bushes.

Range (Guide)

Canada, Mexico, USA (B).

Introduced to Argentina, Australia (B), Chile, New Zealand (B), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (E) (B).

Feral population on King Island, Bass Strait.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 990,000 (2010).

Status LC
Vulnerable.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mainly seeds, some leaves and fruit.

Voice
A wild 'qua-quergo' uttered during the breeding season. A liquid 'dup dup' and soft grunts, cackles and staccato whistles.

(24Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (137)...)

California Quail (Callipepla californica) [XC325227]
by Jim Holmes from Saanichton, British Columbia, Canada (song)

California Quail (Callipepla californica) [XC774860]
by Dante Buzzetti from Olmue, Marga Marga, Valpara\u00edso, Chile (song)

Breeding Season (Guide)
September - January.

Nest
A scrape in the ground, lined with grass.

Eggs (Guide)
8 - 22, usually 10 - 15; buff or cream, irregularly marked with dull brown spots and blotches; pointed oval; about 32 x 24 mm. Incubation: 22 - 23 days; by female.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii) and sometimes considered conspecific.

One in Australia, on King Island.

The following 8 subspecies are recognised:

californica (Shaw, 1798) - Northern Oregon and western Nevada, north-western USA, south to Los Coronados Is, Baja California, north-western Mexico. Also (probably introduced) from southern British Columbia, south-western Canada, Seast to Colorado, west-central USA.
orecta (Oberholser, 1932) - South-eastern Oregon and extreme north-eastern California, western USA.
brunnescens (Ridgway, 1884) - Coastal northern California to south-central California, western USA. Also (probably introduced) Vancouver I, Canada.
catalinensis (Grinnell, 1906) - Santa Catalina I, off south-western California, western USA. Also (probably introduced) nearby Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Is.
canfieldae (van Rossem, 1939) - East-central California, western USA.
plumbea (Grinnell, 1926) - Southern California, western USA, to northern Baja California, north-western Mexico.
decolorata (van Rossem, 1946) - Central and southern Baja California, north-western Mexico.
achrustera (Peters, JL, 1923) - Extreme southern Baja California, western Mexico.

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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