Skip to main content

Gambel's Quail

The Gambel's quail is a member of the New World quail family, and is actually a small ground-living bird. It's main habitats are the desert regions of Sonora, Utah, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Arizona and Colorado.

And it is also available in New Mexico-border Chihuahua and the Colorado River region of Baja California. The breed is named in honor of William Gambel, who was a nineteenth century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States.

The Gambel's quail is related to the California quail. But it is not as widely introduced as the California quail. It was however released on San Clemente Island in 1912 by Charles T. Howland et al., where it is currently still established.

Today, the Gambel's quails are numerous. Total populations appear to have been fairly stable between 1966 and 2014 (possibly with a small decline, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey). Read some more information about this quail breed below.

Gambel's Quail Characteristics

Like most other quails, the Gambel's quails are plump, volleyball-sized birds. They have small bill, short necks and square shaped tail.

Their wings are short but broad, and both males and females have comma-shaped topknot of feathers atop their small head. The topknot of feathers are fuller in the males than the females.

The Gambel's quail has a bluish-gray plumage on much of their bodies. The males have copper feathers on the top of their heads, black faces, and white stripes above their eyes.

The Gambel's quail can be generally confused with the California quail, mainly because of it's similar plumage. These birds can generally be distinguished by range.

gambel's quail, gambel's quails, about gambel's quail, gambel's quail appearance, gambel's quail breed, gambel's quail breed info, gambel's quail breed facts, gambel's quail behavior, gambel's quail care, caring gambel's quail, gambel's quail color, gambel's quail characteristics, gambel's quail color varieties, gambel's quail development, gambel's quail eggs, gambel's quail facts, gambel's quail for meat, gambel's quail farms, gambel's quail farming, gambel's quail history, gambel's quail info, gambel's quail images, gambel's quail meat, gambel's quail origin, gambel's quail photos, gambel's quail pictures, gambel's quail rarity, gambel's quail rearing, raising gambel's quail, gambel's quail size, gambel's quail temperament, gambel's quail tame, gambel's quail uses, gambel's quail varieties, gambel's quail weight, gambel's quail as pets

But when this does not suffice, the California quails have a more scaly appearance and the back patch on the lower breast of the male Gambel's quail is absent in the California quail.

Average length of the Gambel's quail is around 28 cm, with a wingspan of 36 to 41 cm. Average live body weight of these birds is between 160 and 200 grams. Photo and info from Wikipedia.

Uses

The Gambel's quail is generally used and raised as a pet, or as hobby.

Special Notes

The Gambel's quails are gregarious birds of the desert Southwest, where coveys gather along brushy washes and cactus-studded arroyos to feed. They generally eat plants mostly.

They generally eat seeds of shrubs, grasses, trees, cactus and forbs. And they also pick mesquite seeds from cattle and coyote droppings.

The Gambel's quail mainly move about by walking, and it can move surprisingly fast through brush and undergrowth. It is a non-migratory species and is rarely seen in flight.

Flight of these birds is generally short and explosive, with many rapid wingbeats. In the late summer, fall, and winter, the adults and immature young congregate into coveys of many birds.

In the spring, Gambel's quail pair off for mating and become very aggressive toward other pairs. The females generally lay 10-12 eggs, and the incubation period lasts from 21 to 23 days.

The chicks are precocial, leaving the nest with their parents within hours of hatching. However, review full breed profile of the Gambel's quail in the chart below.

Breed NameGambel's
Other NamesNone
Breed PurposePets, hobby
Special NotesVery strong and hardy birds, active, generally a ground-living bird, they spend most of their time on the ground, they generally eat plants and seeds, non-migratory species, they rarely seen in flight, they flight with many rapid wingbeats, the females lay between 10 and 12 eggs, their incubation period lasts for 21 to 23 days
SpeciesNew World Quail
WeightBetween 160 and 200 grams
Climate ToleranceAlmost all climates
Egg ColorDull white to buff with irregular cinnamon-brown splotches
Egg Size/Weight8 to 13 grams
Egg Productivity10-12 eggs clutch size
Body ColorBluish-gray
RarityCommon
Country/Place of OriginUnited States

Comments

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...