Fun Gambel's Quail Facts For Kids

Have you ever thought of learning 'Unity is Strength' from birds? We can learn this quality from Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) which stays together to protect itself from predators. They are predominantly seen in New Mexico, Texas, Sonora, the Colorado River region of Baja California, Utah, Chihuahua, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Colorado.

Gambel's quails are named after a well-known naturalist named William Gambel, who performed many experimental studies to explore the natural history of animals, birds, and plants in the southwest part of the United States of America during the 19th century.

These birds look the same as California quails, a similar species from the quail family, especially by the appearance of the plume that covers their body.

However, they could differentiate themselves based on the fact that California quails have a scaly look, and do not have a black patch at the bottom part of the breast seen on the male Gambel's quails.

Read to discover exciting facts about Gambel's quail for kids, and check our excellent and informative articles on quail facts and California quail facts for more details.

Gambel's Quail Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Gambel's quail?

Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) is a short to medium-sized, good-looking, ground-bounded North American feathered bird. Since these birds spend most of their time on the ground, they have short but strong legs, which they use for running in case of any threats.

Adults and younger quails are gregarious and live in a group. These birds are entomophagous while they are young and start eating more plant seeds for food as they grow older.

Gambel's quails and California quails are sister taxa due to their resemblances. Gambel's quails are also called Arizona quails, topknot quails, and desert quails.

What class of animal does a Gambel's quail belong to?

Gambel's quail belongs to the class Aves, order Galliformes, and family Odontophoridae.

How many Gambel's quails are there in the world?

The population size of Gambel's quail (desert quail) is unknown. A study of the North American Breeding Bird Survey shows that Gambel's quails are plentiful, and the population between 1966 and 2014 was relatively stable and steady with a slight, negligible, decline.

However, because of the broom-and-bust of these ground-bound species, the numbers are varying year on year. The global population is estimated at 5.3 million, where 74% of the population is in the United States, and 26% is in Mexico, according to Partners in Flight.

Where does a Gambel's quail live?

Gambel's quails (Desert quail) live in the hot deserts of Arizona, Baja California, Mohave, New Mexico, Nevada, Sonora, Chihuahua, Texas, Colorado, and California. Though these ground birds take the required water from vegetation, they prefer to live near water sources.

What is a Gambel's quail's habitat?

Gambel's quails stay in a desert with thickets and brushy prickly vegetation habitat.  However, these ground birds also prefer to live near arroyos, dry grasslands, mesquite-lined river valleys, agricultural fields, shrubs, and drainages near these vegetation lands.

Who do Gambel's quails live with?

Gambel's quails (desert quails) are convivial in their behavior, and they live in a group called Coveys. These coveys are family groups, consisting of one adult pair and up to sixteen chicks during the fall. During the winter, many coveys combine to feed together. Then, in early spring, they split up again and form smaller coveys.

How long does a Gambel's quail live?

Gambel's quails live for about one and a half years in general. However, this bird may also live for up to four years occasionally.

How do they reproduce?

One of the essential Gambel's quail mating facts is that they are monogamous types, where these birds select a partner, mate with the same, and continue their relationship until the end of their life. In rare scenarios, females may leave their mating partners and chicks to look for a new mate.

During this climate, partners become so wild and maintain a distance from the other partners in the coveys. Females will typically have only one brood per breeding season.

Females are responsible for building the nest and will lay eggs in the range of 12-16.

The eggs are light white with cinnamon-brown splotches in a brood, and they sit and incubate the eggs for about three weeks. The number of eggs may go higher if there is more rainfall.

What is their conservation status?

Gambel's quail (desert quail) belongs to the Least Concern category, listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The population range may go high or low based on the local climate. In general, the population is considered to be pretty steady and stable. Seemingly the growth rate becomes adversely impacted during heavy dry years, though.

Gambel's Quail Fun Facts

What do Gambel's quails look like?

These North American birds have olive-colored, short, and broad wings. Their plume that covers most of their body is bluish-grey and their faces look black. They have a plume-filled topknot that will look like a comma atop their heads. They are less scaled as compared to California quail.

Their creamy, chestnut, and gray color provides a magnificent camouflage that helps for self-protection from predators. Males have strong patterns on the head, a unique identifier from females. They also have black patches on their belly.

How cute are they?

They are one of the cutest species in the quail family. Most of their body is covered with a sponge-like feather and will have a cute topknot on their heads. White stripes above their eyes give an adorable look, and round-shaped wings and long legs with no feathers add more style to them.

How do they communicate?

They communicate through high sounded alarms, mumbles, and loud chuckles. These birds make a loud noise (ka-KAA-ka) to check if there are any other quails in the nearby areas and for attendance purposes. Males use unique murmuring sounds to attract their female partners. Gambel's quail call involves mumbling sounds to communicate with individuals.

How big is a Gambel's quail?

Gambel's quail's average length is about 11 in (29 cm) and they have a (41 cm) long wingspan.

How fast can a Gambel's quail fly?

Gambel's quails prefer to either walk or run most of the time. They indulge in flying in the range of 30-40 mph (48-64 kph) only when they get into some trouble due to predators or for precautionary safety reasons.

If they fly at all it would be most likely for a shorter distance only with speedy wing beats and a slower and steady glide-like travel to the ground. They live within a short range of 40 acres throughout their life, and hence they are treated as non-migratory birds.

How much does a Gambel's quail weigh?

A Gambel's quail weighs in the range of 0.35-0.44 lb (160-200 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

The male is known as a cock, and the female is known as a hen.

What would you call a baby Gambel's quail?

A baby Gambel's quail bird is called a chick.

What do they eat?

The grain-eating birds feed on plants (seeds and leaves) for their food on most occasions. They also eat small insects in the course of the nesting seasons. They like eating fruits and berries of cacti for their diet. Millet and corn are their preferred food.

They are vulnerable to serpents, coyotes, reynards, and bobcats when not in flight.

Are they dangerous?

They are not dangerous to humans. However, when eaten, they might be a little poisonous and create health issues like rhabdomyolysis.

Would they make a good pet?

They are, in general, quiet, calm, straightforward to control, pleasant, and a bit chatty with similar types of birds like small parrots and pigeons. They have a cute topknot on their heads, making them look beautiful.

However, novice owners need to be a little more cautious while keeping these quails due to their anxious nature, as they may get involved in fights a little quicker than the other pets.

Did you know...

Gambel's quails are considered more intelligent than birds of a similar size. Moreover, due to their special and unique social ecosystem, taking care of chicks of other parents in the coveys, having various sounds for each of them comes naturally.

The Gambel's Quail Eggs

While male Gambel's quails focus on finding suitable shrubs oriented regions ensuring safety for the nest sites, and the female builds a comfortable nesting space. The nest would be made up of mesh wire containing leaves and feathers.

Once a nest is built, the female would lay 12-16 eggs of light white with cinnamon-brown splotches and sit on them for about three weeks as part of its breeding process. Gambel's quail eggs are in cream color with black stains.

Like chickens, quails also habitually eat their eggs for their protein needs. Once they start to feed on them as their diet, it would subsequently become a regular practice.

Do Gambel's quails mate for life?

Yes, Gambel's quails are monogamous and mate for life. When an adult finds his or her partner and mates with them, they will continue their relationship until they die. Interestingly, both adults share parenting responsibilities equally. They look for the appropriate nest sites for the stay, hatch eggs, and groom young ones to be better quail together.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including Jacana Facts or Peahen Facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Gambel's quail coloring pages.