Scaled Quail

Callipepla squamata (Vigors, 1830)

Scaled Quail, Callipepla squamata, is a New World quail that breeds in south-west USA and north-central Mexico. It is found in dry, open country, including valleys, plains, foothills, rocky slopes, draws, gullies and canyons. Its breast and back show a scaled pattern, and it has a white crest that looks like a cotton tuft. The species is also known as blue quail or cottontop. It was described by Vigors in 1830 and belongs to the family Odontophoridae in the order Galliformes.

Order

Galliformes

Family

Odontophoridae — New World Quail

Breeding range

North America, Middle America: sw USA and nc Mexico