California Quail 143 
California Quail. Lophortyx californicus. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 294—Colorado Records—Drew 85, p. 14; Cooke 
97, pp. 69, 202; Judd 05, p. 47; Rockwell 08, p. 47; Cary 09, p. 180. 
Description—Male—Above slaty-blue with an, olive wash on the 
wings and pale tawny edges to the secondaries and tertiaries; head 
with a characteristic club-shaped crest of several glossy-black feathers ; 
forehead .whitish, continued as a line over the eye, bounded posteriorly 
by black ; occiput brown ; ; ides of the face and throat black, bordered. 
by white; sides and back of the neck mottled with black edges and 
white spots; breast slaty-blue; rest of the under-parts tawny-olive, 
rufous, white and black, the latter chiefly in narrow cross-bands. 
Length 10-0; wing 4-5; tail 3-75; culmen -5; tarsus 1-15. 
The female has the head dull brown above and the throat rather 
paler and streaked, but no definite markings; it is also without the 
rufous on the abdomen; young in first plumage have white, black- 
bordered shaft-lines above, angular white spots on the breast and 
obscure grey bars on the belly. 
Distribution.—The lower transition and upper sonoran zones of the 
Pacific coastlands from Oregon to Monterey co. in California. Intro- 
duced into Washington and British Columbia and many other parts of 
the world. 
The California Quail has been introduced and has increased and 
thoroughly established itself in many parts of Colorado, especially in 
the neighbourhood of Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction. 
About the last-mentioned place they have become so abundant that the 
farmers are beginning to complain. They have spread up the Gunnison 
Valley as far as Hotchkiss, and have also been introduced and have 
spread in Montezuma co. 
Habits.—Miss Eggleston, quoted by Rockwell, says: 
“A few years ago these birds were introduced near 
Grand Junction, and have multiplied rapidly. They 
make their nests under the piles of pruned branches 
from the orchards and bring out large broods. One 
hen has been seen with twenty-three chicks, of two 
distinct broods. They are very tame, sitting on the 
fence-posts or trees by the roadside, and calling noisily 
to one another. They feed early in the morning, and 
large numbers of them can be driven from the gardens.” 
The California Quail undoubtedly does eat and 
damage grapes, though in other respects it does useful 
