By Gerald Berthelette, Quail Forever Senior Biologist
The scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) is a New World Quail species that finds its home in the arid grasslands of the southwestern United States and central Mexico in elevations up to 7,000 feet above mean sea level. A forb- and graminoid-dominated landscape is preferable to this species, as it provides an abundance of seeds, which make up the bulk of the animal’s diet, and also provides cover for a bird that spends most of its life on the ground. Scaled quail are easily identified by their scale-like feather pattern and the crested white topknot, providing the basis for its moniker “cottontop”. Males tend to be heavier than females (6.7 oz vs. 6.2 oz) but show little differentiation in plumage and are considered the least dimorphic of all North American quail species. Sex can be identified, however, by examining the neck plumage, which is white to buff-colored in males, and gray with dark streaks in females. Plumage varies, however, in subspecies found throughout their range.
Sexual maturity is reached in an individual’s first spring, and a pair will build their nest together, after which the hen incubates the eggs for about three weeks. Scaled quail are ground-nesters with a typical clutch size of 5-16 cream-colored and brown-speckled eggs. Nests are often found in thicker vegetation or at the base of a woody shrub or yucca plant, are made up of leaves and grass stems, and measure about 3 inches deep and up to 9 inches across. Due to their precocial nature, newly hatched quail are able to mimic their parents’ behavior enough to follow them around, and even forage for their own food. This allows the chicks to quickly learn how to fend for themselves in order to take advantage of their short lifespan, averaging only about one year.
Population numbers are often driven by environmental conditions and even cease to exist when summer precipitation is less than six inches. Conversely, an abundance of precipitation may encourage woody species encroachment, creating less ideal habitat for native undergrowth, in turn limiting the quail’s diet availability. There is some controversy over water requirements for this upland game bird, as free water is oftentimes not available in your typical scaled quail habitat. Scaled quail home ranges have been documented up to 16 miles from the closest water source, but many researchers agree that water requirements for this and other quail species are likely dictated by climatic conditions at the time and location where the study was conducted.
Historically present throughout the southwestern grasslands, shrub and mesquite encroachment, along with land management practices have fragmented the scaled quail’s preferred habitat. Moderate grazing has shown to be effective at maintaining scaled quail habitat, but overgrazing has shown to be negatively impactful for the species’ habitat requirements. Pure grasslands, however, are often avoided by scaled quail, especially when dominated by introduced aggressive grass species, such as Lehmann’s lovegrass.
This story originally appeared in the 2022 Winter Issue of the Quail Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to be the first to read more great upland content like this, become a Quail Forever member today!