California Quail

Callipepla californica

The California quail is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest, plume or topknot made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks.

California valley quailValley quail
California quail. Photo shared on Wikipedia by Charles J. Sharp.
California quail. Photo shared on Wikipedia by Charles J. Sharp.
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Community Sightings

Recent observations from the iNaturalist community

California Quail observed by carleydemons
Mar 1, 2026
Point Reyes National Seashore, Inverness, CA, US
bycarleydemons
Research Grade
· 2 IDs
California Quail observed by squigglymiggly
Mar 1, 2026
CA-154, Santa Barbara, CA, US
byMiguel Sandoval
Research Grade
· 1 ID
California Quail observed by matharken
Mar 1, 2026
Corona, CA, US
bymatharken
Research Grade
· 1 ID
California Quail observed by jmaughn
Mar 1, 2026
Santa Cruz County, CA, USA
byJames Maughn
Research Grade
· 1 ID
View all 42,621 observations on iNaturalist
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