Gambel's Quail

Every morning we're awakened by the raucous cry of several families of Gambel's Quail (Callipepla bambelii) foraging in our patio. Each family has a dominant male who guards the rest.He flies up on the wall and checks out the area. Then he gives the all-clear, and the rest of the family either fly up over the wall or come under the gate. When they're ready to go, he repeats the process. Note the wonderful black plume ("topknot"), black face outlined in white, and red cap of the male. The female is less colourful and its plume is less prominent.The two quail on the left are females (not a very flattering photo, I'm afraid, but I find them difficult to photograph - they scoot whenever I show up).

Gambel's Quail are seed eaters. They also like herbaceous material, fruits and berries. They are ground feeders. We see them early in the morning in the patio. At sundown, they make a foray through our back yard.

Gambel's quail inhabit brushy and thorny vegetation of southwestern deserts. They range up to a mile, often along river valleys and drainages. They roost at night time in shrubs and trees, usually just a few inches to a few feet off the ground. They appear commonly in suburbs.

These gregarious birds often join together in groups known as coveys, which may total 20 or more individuals in fall and winter. [This is the behaviour we're seeing now. In spring and summer, we see individual family groups.] They produce a l0cation or assembly call, "ka-KAA-ka-ka," to locate a mate or other covey members. They emit a distinct "chip-chip-chip" when alarmed. [Desert USA]