A very plump, short-tailed, round-winged game bird, with essentially no neck. It has an oddly shaped, narrow head with a crest at the back. The bill is heavy, short, and thick.
Relative Size
Larger than an Inca Dove, slightly smaller than a Scaled Quail or Gambel's Quail.
Males have a complex black-and-white face, a blond crest at the back of the head, a cinnamon belly, and dark bluish-gray sides with white polka dots. Upperparts are intricately striped, mottled, and spotted in black, brown, and tan. Females are rich brown overall, with a hint of the male’s head and back pattern.
Forages on the ground in dense grasslands for insects, seeds, acorns, bulbs, roots, and tubers. Often digs pits in soil to unearth food, using long claws on its strong feet. Travels in pairs year-round, joined by offspring in fall and winter, but seldom seen in larger coveys.
Occurs in native perennial grasslands in mountains of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, especially around oaks. Also ranges into stream corridors, higher portions of deserts, and in rare cases visits pine forests at high elevations.
Regional Differences
Ornithologists recognize four subspecies, two each on either side of the Rio Balsas drainage in Mexico. Birds in the United States are subspecies mearnsi, and are similar to the next closest subspecies in Mexico, montezumae. On the other side of the Rio Balsas are two subspecies (sallei, rowleyi) that differ notably from the northern two subspecies: instead of whitish spots on a blue-gray background, males in this group have dark gray flanks with large cinnamon spots, as well as more richly colored upperparts. Some ornithologists suggest these two subspecies should be considered a full species, called Salle’s Quail.