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Home/Species/ Gambel's Quail

Callipepla gambelii

(Gambel, 1843)

Gambel's Quail

G5Secure Found in 47 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106565
Element CodeABNLC23030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderGalliformes
FamilyOdontophoridae
GenusCallipepla
Other Common Names
Codorniz Chiquiri (ES) Colin de Gambel (FR) Gambel's quail (EN)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Formerly in genus Lophortyx (AOU 1983). Occasionally hybridizes with C. squamata (AOU 1983). Study of genus Callipepla shows C. californica and C. gambelii to be sister taxa, with relationships to C. douglasii and C. squamata unclear (Zink and Blackwell 1998). Formerly in family Phasianidae; placed in family Odontophoridae by AOU (1997).
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-11-25
Change Date1996-11-25
Range Extent Comments
RESIDENT: east-central California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, western Colorado, and northwestern New Mexico south to northeastern Baja California, Sonora, coastal Sinaloa, northern Chihuahua, and western Texas. Introduced in Hawaii (established on Lanai, Kahoolawe, possibly Hawaii) and north-central Idaho.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Deserts, primarily with brushy or thorny growth such as mesquite, desert thorn and yucca, also in adjacent cultivated regions (Tropical and Subtropical zones) (AOU 1983). Usually lives near water; in river valleys, near streams. Nests on the ground under the cover of a small tree, shrub, grass tuft, etc. The nest is a shallow scrape lined with grasses or other plant material (Harrison 1978).

Ecology

In fall family groups form coveys of 12-24 or 40-50 birds (Terres 1980); coveys break up by March.

Reproduction

Females incubate 12-14, sometimes 10-19, eggs for 21-23 days (male usually nearby). Precocial nestlings usually tended by both parents. May renest if first attempt unsuccessful.
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralDesertCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
TexasS4BYes
New MexicoS5B,S5NYes
ArizonaS5Yes
IdahoSNANo
UtahS3Yes
Navajo NationS1Yes
ColoradoSNANo
NevadaS5Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
Roadless Areas (47)
Arizona (24)
AreaForestAcres
Blind Indian CreekPrescott National Forest26,847
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
CenterfireApache-Sitgreaves National Forests13,130
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
FritschePrescott National Forest14,190
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
Horse MesaTonto National Forest9,146
Lime CreekTonto National Forest42,568
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
NolanApache-Sitgreaves National Forests6,780
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Santa TeresaCoronado National Forest8,929
SunsetApache-Sitgreaves National Forests28,948
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
Montana (2)
AreaForestAcres
BridgerGallatin National Forest45,059
West Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest133,563
Nevada (4)
AreaForestAcres
Antelope - West 1Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest8,642
Charleston - ClarkHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest4,674
PotosiHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest5,145
Table Mtn. - EastHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest87,789
New Mexico (12)
AreaForestAcres
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold WildernessGila National Forest111,883
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
Devils CreekGila National Forest89,916
Frisco BoxGila National Forest38,979
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Jefferies CanyonLincoln National Forest8,934
Lower San FranciscoGila National Forest26,460
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
NolanGila National Forest13,051
Ortega PeakLincoln National Forest11,545
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Indian CreekBuffalo Gap National Grassland24,666
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big CreekNational Forests in Texas1,447
Utah (3)
AreaForestAcres
Boulder Mtn. / Boulder Top / Deer LakeDixie National Forest110,690
CottonwoodDixie National Forest6,754
Pine Valley MountainsDixie National Forest57,673
References (19)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1997. Forty-first supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 114(3):542-552.
  3. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  5. Calkins, J. D., J. C. Hagelin, and D. F. Lott. 1999. California Quail (CALLIPEPLA CALIFORNICA). No. 473 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  6. DeVos, T. and B. S. Mueller. 1993. Reproductive ecology of Northern Bobwhite in north Florida. Proceedings of the National Quail Symposium III:83-89.
  7. Goldstein, D. L. 1984. The thermal environment and its constraint on activity of desert quail in summer. Auk 101:542-550.
  8. Gutierrez, R. J., and D. J. Delehanty. 1999. Mountain Quail (OREORTYX PICTUS). No. 457 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28pp.
  9. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  10. Johnsgard, P. A. 1988. The quails, partridges, and francolins of the world. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. 264 pp.
  11. Kosciuk, J. R. 1986. Elevated quail roosts. Section 5.1.5, US Army Corps of Engineers Wildlife Resources Management Manual. Tech. Rep. EL-86-18. Waterways Expt. Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 15 pp.
  12. Lee, J. M. 1994. Habitat ecology of Northern Bobwhite at Copiah County Wildlife Management Area. Masters thesis, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State.
  13. Manley, S. W. 1994. Evaluation of old-field habitat manipulations for breeding Northern Bobwhites. Masters thesis, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State.
  14. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  15. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  16. Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett. 1987. A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 409 pp. + 45 plates.
  17. Stromberg, M. R. 2000. Montezuma Quail. No. 524 IN A. Poole and F. Gill (editors), The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 20pp.
  18. Taylor, J. S., K. E. Church, D. H. Rusch, and J. R. Cary. 1999a. Macrohabitat effects on summer survival, movements, and clutch success of Northern Bobwhite in Kansas. Journal of Wildlife Management 63:675-685.
  19. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.