I often see this cool bird while out and about looking for reptiles in California.
The California Quail is a small ground-dwelling bird with a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward; the plume is larger in males than in females. It is a handsome, soccer ball-sized bird with a rich gray breast and intricately scaled underparts.
Its stiffly accented “Chi-ca-go” call is a common sound of brushy areas of California and the Northwest. They are often seen strutting across clearings, nodding their heads at each step. If disturbed, they may burst into fast low flight on whirring wings.
This is a highly sociable bird that often gathers in small flocks known as “coveys.” One of their daily communal activities is a dust bath. A group of quail will select an area where the ground has been newly turned or is soft, and using their underbellies, will burrow downward into the soil one to two inches.
They then wriggle about in the indentations they have created, flapping their wings and ruffling their feathers, causing dust to rise in the air. They seem to prefer sunny places in which to create these dust baths. I’ve witnessed this activity while on Mount Hamilton.
Thsi bird’s main habitats are broken chaparral, woodland edges, coastal scrub, parks and farms. As an adaptation to living in arid environments, California Quails can often get by without water, acquiring their moisture from insects and succulent vegetation. During periods of sustained heat they must find drinking water to survive.
California Quail nests can contain as many as 28 eggs. These large clutches may be the result of females laying eggs in nests other than their own, a behavior known as “egg-dumping.” The chicks leave the nest shortly after birth. They make their first attempts at flight when they are about 10 days old and stay on the ground for about a month before roosting in trees with the rest of the flock.
The California Quail is the state bird of California.
