Gambel's quail
Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. 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. The Gambel's quail is named in honor of William Gambel, a 19th-century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States.
Gambel's quail | |
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Male Gambel's quail in Las Vegas, Nevada | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Odontophoridae |
Genus: | Callipepla |
Species: | C. gambelii |
Binomial name | |
Callipepla gambelii (Gambel, 1843) | |
The species is not as widely introduced as the related California quail. It was however released on San Clemente Island in 1912 by Charles T. Howland et al., where it is currently still established.[2]
Description
The Callipepla gambelii birds are easily recognized by their top knots and scaly plumage on their undersides. Gambel's quail have bluish-gray plumage on much of their bodies, and males have copper feathers on the top of their heads, black faces, and white stripes above their eyes. The bird's average length is 11 in (28 cm) with a wingspan of 14–16 in (36–41 cm). These birds have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs. Its diet consists primarily of plant matter and seeds.
Gambel's quail can be commonly confused with California quail due to similar plumage. They can usually be distinguished by range, but when this does not suffice, California quail have a more scaly appearance and the black patch on the lower breast of the male Gambel's quail is absent in the California quail. The two species are sister taxa which diverged during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, 1 to 2 mya.[3]
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are two recognized subspecies:[4]
- C. g. fulvipectus (Nelson, 1899) – fulvous-breasted quail – southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico to southern Sonora in Mexico
- C. g. gambelii (Gambel, 1843) – nominate – Utah and Nevada through Mojave Desert to Colorado, northeastern Baja California and Tiburón Island.
Behavior
Gambel's quail primarily move about by walking and can move surprisingly fast through brush and undergrowth. They are a non-migratory species and are rarely seen in flight. Any flight is usually short and explosive, with many rapid wingbeats, followed by a slow glide to the ground. In the late summer, fall, and winter, the adults and immature young congregate into coveys of many birds. In the spring, Gambel's quail pair off for mating and become very aggressive toward other pairs. The chicks are decidedly more insectivorous than adults, gradually consuming more plant matter as they mature. Gambel's quail are monogamous and rarely breed in colonies. The female typically lays 10–12 eggs in a simple scrape concealed in vegetation, often at the base of a rock or tree. Incubation lasts from 21–23 days, usually performed by the female and rarely by the male. The chicks are precocial, leaving the nest with their parents within hours of hatching.[5]
Relationship with humans
Quail are extremely afraid of humans. Even quail that live on or near a human's property immediately remove themselves from the area as soon as a human is spotted. They have an acute sensitivity to a human approaching, and will run quickly, or take short flight to avoid interaction. Some animals that are hunted by humans eventually adapt and befriend a human that feeds them and shows kindness to them, as is the case with cottontail rabbits. A human is not going to make friends with a quail, except in the rare circumstance when a baby chick is abandoned, and a human claims it as a pet, feeds it, and brings it to adulthood. Even then, the relationship is short lived as soon as the quail is released back into the wild.[6] Quail are so notoriously known for their fear of predators (both human and animal), that the definition of the word 'quail' (as a verb) literally means 'fear', 'wince', or to 'draw back in pain'.[7]
Gallery
- A pair at Indianapolis Zoo (male on left and female on right)
- Male and female Gambel's quail in Mesa, Arizona
- Gambel's Quail nest in San Tan Valley, AZ
- Adults with chicks
- Male
- Female
- Father, mother and adolescent offspring cooling off on a mid-summer's day in the Mojave Desert
References
- BirdLife International (2010). "Callipepla gambelii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- Huey 1932.
- Zink & Blackwell 1998.
- "Callipepla gambelii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 February 2006.
- Thomson 2001.
- "Quail Fear of Humans".
- "Quail means "fear"".
Sources
- Huey, Laurence M. (1932). "Some Light on the Introduction of Gambel Quail on San Clemente Island, California" (PDF). Condor. Cooper Ornithological Society. 34 (1): 46. doi:10.2307/1363791.
- Thomson, Matthew (2001). "Callipepla gambelii Gambel's quail". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- Zink, Robert M.; Blackwell, Rachelle C. (1998). "Molecular systematics of the Scaled Quail complex (genus Callipepla)" (PDF). Auk. 115 (2): 394–403. doi:10.2307/4089198.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gambel's Quail. |
Wikispecies has information related to Callipepla gambelii |
- Gambel's Quail videos at Tree of Life
- "Gambel's Quail media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Stamps (for Mexico, United States) with Range Map at bird-stamps.org
- Gambel's Quail photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Callipepla gambelii at IUCN Red List maps