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The Ground Walking Land Birds
Scaled Quail
The scaled quail, also commonly called the 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 bird is named for the scaly appearance of its breast and back feathers. Along with its scaly markings, the bird is easily identified by its white crest that resembles a tuft of cotton.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Galliformes
Family:
Odontophoridae
Genus:
Callipepla
Species:
squamata
Common Name:
Scaled Quail
Conservation Status:
LC
Subspecies:
C. S. squamata (Altiplano scaled quail, Central Plateau of Mexico)
C. S. pallida (northern scaled quail)
C. S. hargravei (Upper Sonoran scaled quail)
C. S. castanogastris (chestnut bellied scaled quail)
Description
Length:
10 - 12 inches
Wingspan:
14.2 - 16 inches
Weight:
6.2 - 6.7 ounces
Male:
The males are just a little bit larger than the females.
Habitat:
Desert grasslands and sparsely vegetated shrublands with plants like yucca, cholla, mesquite, skunkbush sumac, prickly pear, sandsage, pinyon, and juniper.
Forages in small groups (coveys) by walking slowly along the ground, pecking at seeds and insects or nipping vegetation. Males sing from conspicuous perches in spring. Often seen along roadsides in small groups, which usually run away or flush into flight.
Range:
The range of the scaled quail is the desert grasslands of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, extending south into numerous Mexican states. They prefer arid and semi-arid environments with low-growing shrubs and grasses.
US Distribution includes: Southeast corner of Arizona; East central Colorado; southwestern Kansas; most all of New Mexico; panhandle and southwest Oklahoma; western Texas.
Mexico distribution includes: northeastern Sonora; Chihuahua; Coahuila; Durango; Zacatecas; San Luis Potosi; Guanajuato; Queretaro; Hidalgo; and eastern coast of Tamaulipas
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