- Callipepla californica
Identification
The average weight of a California Quail is between 150.6 g to 189.5 g (5 - 7 oz.). Males are slightly heavier. An adult California Quail grows to be 25 cm (9.8 in) in length. It has a distinctive black and white pattern on its face and its belly has black and brown feather tips which makes the California Quail look like it has a scaled under part. Its overall colour is blue-grey and brown. It has a chestnut crown with streaking on its flanks. The California Quail has a black bill and grey legs. Sexes are dimorphic. The males have a black throat and the females have more of a greyish throat with black streaks. The California Quail can be identified with its prominent teardrop-shaped plume or a double plume coming off its forehead. An immature California Quail is mostly greys and browns which gives it a cryptic look.
Distribution
Western North America from extreme southwest British Columbia south through Washington, Oregon, and California to Baja California, Mexico.
Taxonomy
There are eight subspecies.
- C. c. californica in Mexico and Oregon
- C. c. orecta in California and Oregon
- C. c. brunnescens in California and Oregon
- C. c. catalinensis in Santa Catalina region, California
- C. c. canfieldae in Owen Valley, California
- C. c. plumbea in Mexico and California
- C. c. achrustera in southern Baja, Mexico
- C. c. decolorata in Baja, Mexico
Habitat
Shrub, open woodlands.
Behaviour
The diet includes seeds, leaves, berries and insects.
The nest is a shallow scrape lined with vegetation; 12 eggs are laid.
