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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, plume or topknot made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks.
Gambel's quail have bluish-gray plumage on much of their bodies, and males have copper feathers on the top of their heads, black faces, and white stripes above their eyes. The bird's average length is 11 in (28 cm) with a wingspan of 14–16 in (36–41 cm). These birds have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs.
Completed clutches have been found as early as May 8. [11] Egg laying occurs from March to June in Texas and Mexico, and from April to September in New Mexico. Nests with eggs were reported as early as April 15 in New Mexico. [10] Scaled quail lay from 9 to 16 eggs; most clutches are 12 to 14 eggs. [15] Eggs are incubated by the female for 21 ...
The king quail, an Old World quail, often is sold in the pet trade, and within this trade is commonly, though mistakenly, referred to as a "button quail". Many of the common larger species are farm-raised for table food or egg consumption , and are hunted on game farms or in the wild, where they may be released to supplement the wild population ...
The geographical range of the New World quail extends from Canada to southern Brazil, and two species, the California quail and the bobwhite quail, have been successfully introduced to New Zealand. The stone partridge and Nahan's partridge , both found in Africa, seem to belong to the family.
In fall, Montezuma quail do not form large groups, as most American quail do. An average covey consists of eight birds, just parents and their offspring, although coveys bigger than 25 birds have been reported. At night, birds in a covey roost on southeast-facing slopes, gathered around a rock or tussock, facing outward.
The specific epithet coturnix is the Latin word for the common quail. [3] This species is now placed in the genus Coturnix that was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalist François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault. [4] [5] [6] The common quail was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). [7]
The smallest species is the quail-plover, the only species in the genus Ortyxelos, which is 10 cm (3.9 in) in length and weighs only 20 g (0.71 oz). The buttonquails in the genus Turnix range from 12 to 23 cm (4.7–9.1 in) in length and weigh between 30 and 130 g (1.1–4.6 oz).