Quail--Gambel's, California and Scaled

A striking overhanging plume makes these desert quail easy to recognize. They are often found in mesquite shrub areas and always seem to be part of a group. Walking past some mesquites, you'll hear a whirr of wings as a dozen or two of these birds suddenly fly up and land again twenty yards off. Seems you've interrupted a town meeting. When the young are of an age to learn about their surroundings they can be seen traveling about in a group under the supervision of several adults, looking for all the world like a class of kindergarteners on a field trip.

Gambel's quail are primarily seed eaters with mesquite and Russian thistle (tumbleweed) seeds figuring heavily in their diet.

The two photos that follow show the strong similarities between the Gambel's quail (top) and the California quail (below), its close relative. Both birds sport the jaunty plume and have very similar markings. Hint: the crown of the head is darker on the California than on the Gambel's and the nape and belly patterns are different. The top photo is by Tom Newman, USFWS, and the photo below is by Lee Karney, also of the USFWS.

Another relative of these birds is the scaled quail which can be found in more barren, rocky areas where cactus and other thorny shrubs prevail. The scaled quail has a chubbier silhouette and shorter tail than the others.

The diet of the scaled quail is higher in animal food than that of the Gambel's quail, consisting mainly of beetles, grasshoppers, ants and spiders. Scaled quail get their name from the scaled appearance of their feathers, but they are often also called cottontops because of the white fluffy headpiece they sport. In areas where both scaled and Gambel's quail are present they may hybridize.

Scaled quail photo from National Park Service Archives, White Sands National Monument.