Breeding Location:
Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Mountains, Scrub vegetation areas
Breeding Type:
Polygamous
Breeding Population:
Egg Color:
Buff to yellow with large blotches of brown gray
Number of Eggs:
12 - 16
Incubation Days:
18 - 23
Egg Incubator:
Female
Nest Material:
Lined with grasses or leaves.
Migration:
Nonmigratory
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Overview
California Quail: Medium quail with distinctive, curled black head plume and white-bordered black throat. Breast is gray and belly is sharply scaled. The flanks are brown with white streaks and back is olive-brown. Legs and feet are gray. Alternates several stiff, rapid wing beats with short glides.
Range and Habitat
California Quail: Originally resident from southern Oregon south to Baja California, but introduced to the Pacific northwest, Idaho, and other inland states. Preferred habitats include brushy chaparral foothills, live oak canyons, and adjacent deserts and suburbs.
Breeding and Nesting
California Quail: Twelve to sixteen buff to yellow eggs, with large blotches of brown gray, are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 18 to 23 days and is carried out by the female.
Foraging and Feeding
California Quail: Eats seeds from broad-leafed plants, such as Lupinus, Lotus, Erodium, Trifolium, Medicago, and Amsinckia; also feeds on fruits, berries, and insects; forages on the ground.
Readily Eats
Berries, Cracked Corn, Millet
Vocalization
California Quail: Makes a loud distinctive "ka-kah-ko" or "chi-ca-go", with second note being highest.
Similar Species
California Quail: Gambel's Quail lacks scaled underparts, brown sides, and brown crown. Mountain Quail has gray-brown upperparts and two long, thin straight head plumes that appear as a single plume.
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