California State Bird
California Quail (common name)  Callipepla californica (scientific name) Overview The California quail, also known as the valley quail, became the official state bird in 1931. A widely distributed and prized game bird, it is known for its hardiness and adaptability. Plump, gray-colored, and smaller than a pigeon, the California quail sports a downward curving black plume on top of its head and black bib with white stripe under the beak. Flocks number from a few to 60 or more birds in the fall and winter months, but in the spring break into pairs. California quail nest in hollows scratched in the ground, and their eggs are creamy white and thickly spotted with golden brown. The species is highly sociable and often gathers in small flocks known as "coveys." One of their daily communal activities involves a dust bath, in which a group of quail burrow downward into the soil some 1-2 inches using their underbellies, then flap their wings and ruffle their feathers. Close-up STATUS Official ALSO KNOWN AS California partridge, valley quail, crested quail, topknot quail (English) PHYSICAL DETAILS  Male Female  Size Length to end of tail: 9.5 in (24.1 cm) Wing from flexure: 4.6 in (11.6 cm) Length of tail: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) Length to end of tail: 9.0 in (22.8 cm) Wing from flexure: 4.6 in (11.6 cm) Length of tail: 3.7 in (9.4 cm)  Weight 5.4–6.7 oz (153–189 g) 5.3–6.6 oz (150–187 g) BEHAVIOR Ground forager, although occasionally forages in trees HABITAT Chaparral, sagebrush, oak woodlands, and foothill forests, as well as city parks, suburban gardens, and agricultural areas Range: Pacific coastal hills and valleys from southwestern British Columbia to southern Baja California Migration: Resident (None) Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) NESTING Nesting Period: Early May–June Size of Clutch: 12–16 eggs Incubation Period: 22–23 days Egg Description: Brown to cream with brown markings Egg Size: 1.24x0.95 in (31.6x24.1 mm) SIMILAR SPECIES Gambel's quail, mountain quail, gray partridge, chukar TRIVIA For California quail, it often "takes a village." Several broods of chicks may mingle after they hatch, with all the parents caring for the young. Raising chicks in this fashion tends to enable adults to live longer than those that don't.  California Quail sometimes practice "egg-dumping," when females lay eggs in nests that aren't their own. This can result in nests containing as many as 28 eggs.  The bird's head plume ("topknot") appears to be a single feather, but is actually comprised of six overlapping feathers.
	Click to enlarge an image California Quail California Quail Chicks California Quail Eggs California Quail Distribution Map (pdf)
	CLASSIFICATION
	Kingdom:	Animalia
	Phylum:	Chordata
	Class:	Aves
	Order:	Galliformes
	Family:	Odontophoridae
	Genus:	Callipepla
	Species:	C. californica
	Author: World Trade Press