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California Quail

California Quail

Callipepla californica

Audubon Illustration

Audubon illustration of California Quail

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

Range & Recent Observations

California Quailis a year-round resident and doesn't follow a migration flyway. See the Range tab for where it lives.

Last Spotted Near You

View on eBirdWikipedia

About the California Quail

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, inhabiting western North America. It is the state bird of California.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name
Callipepla californica
Family
New World Quail
Order
Galliformes

Similar species

Other members of the new world quail family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

  • Banded Quail Philortyx fasciatus
  • Bearded Wood-Partridge Dendrortyx barbatus
  • Black-throated Bobwhite Colinus nigrogularis
  • Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge Dendrortyx leucophrys
  • Elegant Quail Callipepla douglasii
  • Gambel's Quail Callipepla gambelii
  • Long-tailed Wood-Partridge Dendrortyx macroura
  • Montezuma Quail Cyrtonyx montezumae
  • Mountain Quail Oreortyx pictus
  • Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
  • Ocellated Quail Cyrtonyx ocellatus
  • Scaled Quail Callipepla squamata

Know when the California Quail turns up near you

Add it to your watchlist and draw an alert zone around the places you actually bird. Birdr checks eBird reports and tells you when one is seen inside it.

How rare bird alerts work →

Gear for spotting California Quail

Optics

Best Binoculars for Beginners

You don't need to spend a fortune. These four pairs will get you birding confidently on day one.

8 min readRead guide
Cameras

Cameras for Bird Photography

From phone adapters to dedicated rigs, here's what actually works for capturing birds in the field.

12 min readRead guide
Optics

Spotting Scopes for Distance Birding

Essential for shorebirds, raptors, and anything too far for binoculars. Our tested picks.

9 min readRead guide