- Callipepla gambelii
Identification
10-11 1/2" (25-29 cm). A stocky, mainly gray quail with a curved black head plume. Male has bold black face and throat, chestnut crown, rusty sides with diagonal stripes, and unscaled buff-white belly with black patch in center.
Distribution
Resident in southwestern deserts from California east to Texas. Introduced in Idaho and western New Mexico.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Galliformes Family: Odontophoridae Genus: Callipepla Species: C. gambelii
Habitat
Desert thickets; arid country.
Behaviour
10-20 buff-colored eggs, spotted with brown, in a depression lined with grass and twigs at base of tall shrub or mesquite. Voice: A ringing puk-kwaw-cah, with second syllable highest in pitch.
These desert-dwelling quail are attracted to water and gather in large numbers, often representing several coveys, to drink at stock tanks maintained for cattle. The ringing call of the male, heard even in the heat of day, is one of the characteristic sounds of the desert Southwest.
