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By Zebulon Price
Geographic Range
Western United States, British Columbia, Chile, and New Zealand: The California Quail Callipepla californica can be found in the Pacific coast region of the United States. Its original range stretched from Baja California to a small portion of Western Nevada and the southern counties of Oregon. The California Quail is kept as a pet and is favored as a game bird. Because of this, the California Quail has been successfully introduced to other regions of the United States such as Northern Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Utah. It has also been introduced in Chile, New Zealand, and British Columbia (National Geographic: Field Guide to the Birds of North America 1999;Leopold 1977).
Biogeographic Regions:
nearctic 
(introduced , native ); neotropical (introduced ); australian (introduced ).
Habitat
California quail are most commonly found in the west coast regions of the United States. California quail prefer living in open woodlands, bushy foothills, valleys with streams, and suburbs. They can also live in brushland and agricultural land (National Geographic 1999; Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 2).
These animals are found in the following types of habitat:
temperate ; terrestrial .
Terrestrial Biomes:
savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; scrub forest .
Physical Description
(5.3 to 6.67 oz; avg. 5.99 oz)
Average weight of 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. They have a distinctive black and white pattern on the face and belly has black and brown feather tips which makes the California quail look like it has scaled underparts. The overall color is blue-grey and brown. The crown is chestnut colored with streaking along the sides. California quail have black bills and grey legs. Sexes are dimorphic. The males have a black throat and the females have more of a greyish colored throat with black streaks. California quail can be identified by their prominent teardrop-shaped plume or a double plume on the forehead. Immature California quail have general coloration of mostly greys and browns which gives it a cryptic look (National Geographic 1999;World Book 2000;Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 2).
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry .
Sexual dimorphism: male larger, sexes colored or patterned differently, ornamentation .
Reproduction
Breeding occurs once yearly.
Breeding occurs between May and July.
When the winter days start to lengthen, the pituitary glands of California quail start to release gonadotropic hormones. The blood stream then carries these hormones to the gonads, which initiates the growth and development of ovaries and testes. The most typical time for egg fertilization is during May, June, and July. These three months are when viable sperm is at its highest concentration in males. Females lay their eggs between May and June. If California quail do not successfully nest on their first attempt, they then make a second nesting attempt later in the summer. Their nests are made in shallow scrapes in the ground lined with grass. They can lay from 6 to 28 eggs, with 13 to 17 eggs being the average. Eggs are pointed ovals which measure on average 31.6 by 24.1 mm (1.24 by .95 in). The eggs are creamy white in color with light golden brown spots. ("Grzimek's Animal Encyclopedia", 1972; Leopold, 1977; National Geographic, 1999)
Key reproductive features:
iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (internal ); oviparous .
Females incubate the eggs with the male close at hand to tend to her. Incubation lasts 22 to 23 days. In the event of the female's death, the male may assume incubation duties. Chicks hatch synchronously and begin running about within an hour of hatching (precocial) (Leopold 1977;Grizmek's Animal Encyclopedia 1972). ("Grzimek's Animal Encyclopedia", 1972; Leopold, 1977)
Parental investment:
precocial ; male parental care ; female parental care .
Behavior
In fall, California Quail are quite social and travel in small groups, or coveys. These vary in size, typically ranging from 25 to 40 birds but coveys in excess of 1000 birds have been reprted. In spring, when mating and nesting season starts, coveys disintegrate as individual birds begin to pair up and males defend teritories as well as mates. After pairing California quail find a well hidden area so they can prepare their scrapes. Females then lay eggs and incubate them with the male close at hand until the eggs hatch. These family groups avoid confrontations with others until the chicks are grown. California quail are sedentary birds and maximum movements have been recorded up to 27 km (16.8 miles). California quail have been timed in flight at 61.2 to 93 km (38 to 58 miles) per hour. Their ground speed has been timed at 19.3 km (12 miles) per hour (Leopold 1977;Grizmek's Animal Encyclopedia 1972). ("Grzimek's Animal Encyclopedia", 1972; Leopold, 1977)
Key behaviors:
terricolous; flies; diurnal ; motile ; sedentary ; territorial ; social .
Food Habits
The primary daily diet of California quailconsists of seeds from broad-leafed plants, such as Lupinus, Lotus, Erodium, Trifolium, Medicago, and Amsinckia. If available, they also eat fruits, berries, and insects(Leopold 1977). (Leopold, 1977)
Animal Foods:
insects.
Plant Foods:
seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no negative impacts of California quail on humans.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
California quail are sometimes kept as pets and are hunted as a source of food. (Leopold 1977).
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: [link]:
Least Concern.
US Federal List: [link]:
No special status.
CITES: [link]:
No special status.
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Other Comments
The California Quail is so seclusive and secretive in leaving and approaching their nests that relatively few nests have ever been found (Leopold 1977).
Contributors
Zebulon Price (author), Fresno City College.
Carl Johansson (editor), Fresno City College.
