California quail

California quail
Adult male California quail in Point Reyes, CA
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Odontophoridae
Genus: Callipepla
Species:
C. californica
Binomial name
Callipepla californica
(Shaw, 1798)
Range of C. californica. Dark purple: native Light purple: introduced

The California quail (Callipepla californica), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks. Males have a dark brown cap and a black face with a brown back, a grey-blue chest and a light brown belly. Females and immature birds are mainly grey-brown with a light-colored belly. Their closest relative is Gambel's quail, which has a more southerly distribution and a longer crest at 2.5 in (6.4 cm), a brighter head and lacks the scaly appearance of the California quail. The two species separated about 1–2 million years ago, during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene.[2] It was selected as the state bird of California in 1931.[3]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2021). "Callipepla californica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22679603A138739529. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22679603A138739529.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zink1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "50 California Facts". Meet The USA. 2022.