About the Scaled Quail
The scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), also commonly called blue quail or cottontop, is a species of the New World quail family. It is a bluish gray bird found in the arid regions of the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico. This species is an early offshoot of the genus Callipepla, diverging in the Pliocene. The nest is typically a grass-lined hollow containing 9–16 speckled eggs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly. Widespread and common throughout its range, the scaled quail is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Source: Wikipedia
Classification
- Scientific name
- Callipepla squamata
- 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
- California Quail Callipepla californica
- 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
Know when the Scaled Quail turns up near you
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Optics
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Cameras
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