GAMEBEL'S QUAIL BIRD

Callipepla gambelli was named in honor of William Gambell, a 19^th century naturalist who explored the southwestern United States. This bird is found toay in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and the Sonora, Mexico.

Both males and females of this bird have a distinctive black “top-knot” on their heads, but males also have a copper-colored head and a white strip around their eyes. Both sexes have blue-gray plumage on their undersides but featherless legs. 

The term “quail” is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds that mainly walk around in groups (flocks). They can have, nevertheless, short flights (but rarely do). They are non-migratory. Their wingspan is 14-16 inches. These birds are omnivores that eat plant matter (seeds, some greens) and some insects.

                                                                             Gambel's Quail (about the size of a chicken).

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Galliformes [also includes chickens and turkeys)

Family Odontophoridae

Genus Callipepla

Type species: C. gambelii 

The earliest known fossil record of an ancient relative of quail is middle Eocene (44 mya) in Utah. The earliest known fossil record of Callipepla is late Oligocene (28.5-23.8 mya) in California (Quinn, 2005). 

Callipepla is an omnivore that primarily eats plant-based food (e.g., seeds, grains, greens) and insects.

References

Quinn, A. 2005. Earliest record of a New World Quail from the East Lake Local Fauna, Otay Formation (late Oligocene) of San Diego County, California. Georgia College and State University, Master’s thesis, 58 pp. [PDF available, free, online]. 

Wikipedia. 2025.

Note: The “stuffed” quail used for this blog post is part of a taxidermy display of the kinds of wildlife that live in the mountains in the area surrounding the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, just east of the Newhall and southeast of Santa Clarita, Southern California. Parking and admission are free, but the facility is closed on Mondays. There is also a flowing stream, as well as hiking trails. Just a short distance westward (near the entrance to the Nature Center) is the site of the first discovery of gold in California, in 1842—-seven years before gold was found at Sutters Mill on the bank of the South Fork American River, near Coloma in northern California. That discovery led to the famous 1849 Gold Rush.