Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 9.8–13.8 in
25–35 cm - Wingspan
- 15 in
38 cm - Weight
- 6.2–6.7 oz
177–191 g
Other Names
- Colin écaillé (French)
- Codorniz escamosa, Codorniz azul (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The white crest gives the Scaled Quail its colloquial name of "cotton-top."
Habitat
Grassland
Scaled Quail live year-round in desert grasslands and shrublands of the Southwest, including open plains, hills, mesas, sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper woodlands up to about 7,000 feet elevation. Gambel's Quail and Northern Bobwhite tend to use denser or shrubbier habitats that Scaled Quail, in places where they overlap.
Food
Seeds
Scaled Quails eat mostly seeds from forbs, shrubs, or grains. Insects are also eaten, especially in the spring, as are green leaves which are most commonly consumed during the winter months.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 10–13 eggs
- Number of Broods
- 1-2 broods
- Egg Length
- 1.2–1.3 in
3.1–3.3 cm - Egg Width
- 0.9–1 in
2.4–2.5 cm - Incubation Period
- 22–23 days
- Egg Description
- Creamy, speckled with light brown.
- Condition at Hatching
- Alert and downy. Newly hatched chicks leave nest and follow parents around.
Nest Description
The ground nest of the Scaled Quail is a depression lined with grass stems and leaves. Both males and females construct the nest, which is around 3 inches deep and 9 inches across.
Nest Placement
Ground
Scaled Quails hide their nests on the ground within dense vegetation. Nest sites include yucca plants, small bushes, potato patches, honey mesquite, packrat mounds, dead Russian thistle, sand sagebrush, acacia, and other desert herbs and shrubs soapweed, and overhanging rocks.
Behavior
Ground Forager
Scaled Quail are highly social and live in large groups (coveys) from September to April, when pairs form and the coveys break up for the breeding season. They are good runners and usually run from predators, rarely choosing to fly far. At night, they roost in groups on the ground and form a small circle with their heads facing outward. When temperatures are cooler, this roosting circle becomes tighter. Scaled Quails are monogamous and unmated males call to attract mates throughout the breeding season.
Conservation
Least Concern
Scaled Quail populations seem to have declined sharply across their range in past decades, though this species' boom-and-bust population cycles make it hard to estimate long-term trends. The main threat to Scaled Quail, along with other upland game birds of the Southwest, is the reduction in food and cover that comes from overgrazing. Studies suggest that intensive grazing of a pasture for short periods may be better than year-round grazing, particularly during drought years. Ways to improve habitat for Scaled Quail include plowing land, allowing weeds to grow up, or creating brush piles, but not providing supplemental food in the form of grain (judged as too expensive to be practical). Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas have hunting seasons for Scaled Quail, but hunting does not seem to reduce the species' numbers.
Credits
- Schemnitz, S. D. 1994. Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata). In The Birds of North Americaa, No. 106 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.