Birds
Scaled Quail
Callipepla squamata · also called blue quail, cottontop quail
Running low across sun-baked desert grassland with feathers patterned like overlapping scales, a scaled quail flashes a bushy white-tipped crest as it leads its covey toward cover, a pale bluish bird built for open, arid terrain.
Overview
The scaled quail, Callipepla squamata, is a distinctively patterned game bird native to desert and grassland habitat across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its scale-like feather pattern, bushy white-tipped “cottontop” crest, and pale bluish-grey overall tone make it one of the more visually distinctive quail species found across the arid terrain of the American Southwest.
A pattern built into its name
Few birds wear their common name as literally as the scaled quail, whose dark, scallop-edged feathers create a mail-like pattern across the chest and back that immediately explains how the species came to be named.
Status
Least Concern, though decreasing in parts of its range due to habitat degradation and drought across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Scaled Quail: common questions
How did the scaled quail get its name?
This species has feathers edged in dark scallop-like markings across the chest and back, a mail-like pattern resembling overlapping scales that gives rise to the species' common name.
What is a "cottontop" on a scaled quail?
This species has a short, bushy crest of feathers tipped with white, sometimes called a "cottontop," a distinctive head ornament that appears on both males and females and helps distinguish the species from other quail found in the same arid habitat.
Why is the scaled quail sometimes called the blue quail?
This species has an overall pale bluish-grey body tone, a colouring that gives rise to the alternative common name "blue quail" used in parts of its range across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Why has the scaled quail declined in parts of its range?
Regional declines linked to habitat degradation and drought have contributed to an overall decreasing population trend for this species, even though it remains widespread and is not currently classified as being of significant conservation concern.