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Photo credit: Michael Woodruff

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The Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas and Mexico.

The bird's average length is 11 inches (30 cm) with a wingspan of 14-16 inches (35-40 cm). Its diet is mostly plant matter and seeds. The chicks are decidedly more insectivorous than adults. Breeding is monogamous, sometimes gregarious. The female typically lays 10-15 eggs which she incubates for 21-24 days in a simple scrape concealed in vegetation, often at base of rock or tree stump. The young are precocial, leaving the nest within hours of hatching.

This bird is named after William Gambel, an 19th century naturalist and explorer of Southwestern United States.

These birds are easily recognized by their top knots and scaly bellies. They are gray overall and males have a reddish patch on top of their heads and black stripes across their eye.

Gambel's Quail mainly move around by walking, and can move surprisingly fast through brush and undergrowth. They are a non-migratory species and are rarely seen flying. When they do fly, they use a short explosive flight, with many rapid wingbeats and then a slow glide to the ground. They have fairly short rounded wings and long, featherless legs.

Adults are usually seen scratching for seeds with a chicken-like scratch. They will eat cracked corn form ground feeders but are generally a very shy species. In the late summer, fall and winter, the adults and immatures gather in coveys of many birds. They are often seen running through the desert in these large groups, up to 20 individuals. In the spring, they pair off for mating and become very aggressive to each other, often chasing each other in circles on foot.

Sometimes these birds are seen perched in trees, but this is uncommon. They do sleep in trees, however. Most roost in large groups in protected trees, and resume foraging on the ground in the morning. Throughout the day, their call can be heard in deserts. It is a high pitched sound, similar to a rooster.

The only other species that Gambel's Quail can be confused with is the California Quail. They can usually be distinguished by range, but when this does not suffice, California Quail have a more scaly appearance.

References

*U. Mich. Gambel's Quail
*{{ITIS|ID=175877|taxon=Callipepla gambelii|year=2006|date=9 February}}