Gambel's Quail Fact Sheet (2024)

FAQs

Gambel's Quail Fact Sheet? ›

Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) have a chunky round body with a feather plume on their head. Males have a dark and thick plume, a black face, neck and also a black patch on the breast. Females have more dull and thin feather plumes and lack the black markings.

Gambel's Quail are gregarious birds of the desert Southwest, where coveys gather along brushy washes and cactus-studded arroyos to feed. Males and females both sport a bobbing black topknot of feathers. The male's prominent black belly patch distinguishes it from the similar California Quail.

Young are able to move as soon as they are hatched out. The chicks learn how to forage and find food, observing their parents. Reproductive maturity is reached at 1-year-old with male quail, becoming mature a few weeks earlier than females.

Mostly seeds, leaves, berries. Adults apparently are mostly vegetarians at most seasons. They eat many fresh plant shoots, leaves, and buds, especially during spring. Cactus fruits and the berries of mistletoe, hackberry, and other plants are eaten when available.

Small twigs, grass stems, leaves and feathers line the nest. Average life expectancy for a wild quail is 1.5 years although on occasion they may live for up to four years. Mature birds average eleven inches long and weigh from 5.1 to 6.5 ounces (160 to 200 grams.)

Gambel's Quail are considered socially monogamous, but some females desert a mate and her brood to take a new mate and lay another clutch, leaving her original partner to raise the chicks on his own.

California Quail occur mainly along the West Coast of North America, to the west of Gambel's range. Male California Quail have black-and-white scaling on the belly, unlike Gambel's buffy belly. They also have fine black-and-white markings on the back of the neck.

Accipiters are considered some of the most efficient predators that quail face, with Cooper's hawks being touted as “the outstanding natural enemy of the bobwhite” (Stoddard 1931). Other raptors known to take grown bobwhites include various broad–winged hawks, a.k.a. Buteos (Buteo spp).

They will readily eat seeds from many different forbs, including Annual Broomweed, Buffalo-bur, Annual sunflower, Cowpen Daisy, Croton, and Snow-on-the-Mountain. Grass seeds are another important element of a quail's diet, with Johnsongrass and Plains bristlegrass being a couple of their favorites.

They are preyed on by a wide diversity of small to medium predators including snakes, raptors, foxes, bobcats, and coyote. Gambel's quail prefer to roost in dense shrubs or trees at night. Shade from various types of desert vegetation is also very helpful.

Do gambel's quail sit on their eggs? ›

The eggs are laid over several days but the female does not begin sitting on the eggs until they all are laid, thus ensuring that they all hatch at the same time. The young are precocial, i.e. already well developed right out of the egg, which allows them to leave the nest within a day after hatching.

The funny thing about quail is that they seem to prefer nesting in residential areas. Gambel's quail are unique in their egg-laying and incubation habits. When the female begins producing eggs (usually one per day) she does not begin the process of incubation until she has finished laying the whole clutch.

A: California is home to three native species of quail: mountain, California and Gambel's quail. In order to keep these species and others as domesticated game birds, a Domestic Game Breeder's license is generally required, per Fish and Game Code, section 3200(opens in new tab).

Gambel's quail have evolved with the dry dusty desert areas. They like acacia, brittlebush, mesquite, cacti and yucca. All three species of quail prefer seeds in the pea family: lotus, lupine and clover. Filaree and chickweed are other good forb options.

Behavior: Gambel s Quail are the most arid-adapted quail. During the summer the quail are active early mornings and late afternoons when temperatures are not extreme. They avoid heat stress by resting in the shade during the hottest part of the day. Quail must either drink water daily or obtain it from their food.

Quail Facts

There are 22 different bobwhite quail subspecies in 38 states in the US and also in Mexico. The males of the species vary much more than the females. The purpose of the well know call, “Bob, Bob White”, of the male quail is to attract a mate and to warn off other males from his territory.

It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahua and the Colorado River region of Baja California. Gambel's quail is named in honor of William Gambel, a 19th-century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States.

Fun Facts for Kids

During their migration, Japanese quail cover 400-1000 km (248-621 miles) - an amazing distance for a bird that is not famous for its flying capability. Japanese quail can see in color and their perception of color is greater than that of form or shape.

The Himalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa) or mountain quail, is a medium-sized quail belonging to the pheasant family. It was last reported in 1876 and is feared extinct. This species was known from only 2 locations (and 12 specimens) in the western Himalayas in Uttarakhand, north-west India.