California Quail
Callipepla californica

Formerly known as “Valley Quail”, this species has been introduced widely across the western USA. Populations have now been established around the world, in places such as South America, Hawaii, and New Zealand.
There are eight recognized subspecies:
- C. c. achrustera or San Lucas California Quail lives in southern Baja California.
- C. c. brunnescens lives in northern coastal California.
- C. c. californica lives from northern Oregon and western Nevada to southern California and on the Coronado Islands (Mexico).
- C. c. canfieldae or Owen Valley quail lives in the Owens Valley of east central California.
- C. c. catalinensis or Santa Catalina quail lives on Santa Catalina Island off the southern California coast.
- C. c. orecta or Warner Valley Quail lives in the Warner Valley in Oregon and northern California.
- C. c. plumbea or San Quintin California Quail lives in San Diego County and southern Baja California (Mexico).
- C. c. orecta lives in southeastern Oregon and northeastern California.
In San Diego County, the California Quail population has slowly declined. Slow but steady, over-development and residential sprawl has pushed them into the margins of the backcountry. I remember as a teen, fields not 500 yards from my home exploding in thunderous clouds of quail as we hiked through. To say “hundreds” of birds would be insufficient. I’d estimate the numbers as a few thousand. Later, as developers ground down the native chaparral, paving and grading plots for “little boxes made of ticky tacky”, the quails disappeared. Today, a walk through those same fields yields not a single quail peep.
18 Photos

California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Male lookout at Culp Valley. Between Ranchita and Borrego Springs. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:03:09 15:35 |
Location:
Culp Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 |
File Name: JCD3593CaliforniaQuail |
© 2008 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Male lookout at Culp Valley. Between Ranchita and Borrego Springs. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:03:09 15:41 |
Location:
Culp Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 |
File Name: JCD3665CaliforniaQuail |
© 2008 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Female at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:43 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD7013.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Female at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:43 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1250 |
File Name: JCD7016.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Male at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:44 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1250 |
File Name: JCD7021.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, www.shadetree-imaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Male and female at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:44 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD7029.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, www.shadetree-imaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Female at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:45 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1250 |
File Name: JCD7038.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, www.shadetree-imaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Female at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:46 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD7042.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Male at Borrego Springs. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:05 17:46 |
Location:
Visitor Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/750 |
File Name: JCD7045.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Boulder Oaks Reserve. Ramona, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2008:06:27 10:19 |
Location:
Boulder Oaks |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD7609CaliforniaQuail |
© 2008 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Pair at San Felipe Creek, North of Highway 78. Eastern San Diego County, Anza-Borrego Park, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:08:16 7:19 |
Location:
Scissors Crossing |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 |
File Name: jcd9865CaliforniaQuail |
© 2008 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Culp Valley. Anza-Borrego State Park, between Ranchita and Borrego Springs. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:03:09 15:41 |
Location:
Culp Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 |
File Name: Cut_JCD3665CaliforniaQuail |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Lee Metcalf NWR in the Bitterroot Valley near Stevensville, Montana. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:26 19:02 |
Location:
Lee Metcalf NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: D3X5137-CaliforniaQuail |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: My second visit to the fields north of Burns Oregon began in the early morning. I tried my best to capture birds like these California Quail on the west side of the road, because of the lovely light from the rising sun. |
Date Taken: 2022:04:24 7:49 |
Location:
North Foley Drive |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CaliforniaQuail_8504149-BurnsOregon |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: My second visit to the fields north of Burns Oregon began in the early morning. I tried my best to capture birds like these California Quail on the west side of the road, because of the lovely light from the rising sun. |
Date Taken: 2022:04:24 7:48 |
Location:
North Foley Drive |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CaliforniaQuail_8504126-BurnsOregon |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: San Diego Natural History Museum's BioBlitz-2010. Torrey Pines State Park. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:21 19:09 |
Location:
Torrey Pines Extension |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 400 mm, f/7.1, 1/25 |
File Name: JCD7747.CaliforniaQuail |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: Along Horseshoe Meadow Road above the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine California. |
Date Taken: 2016:04:21 12:15 |
Location:
Alabama Hills |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: D728130-CaliforniaQuail |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


California Quail(Callipepla californica) |
Description: The local birding community in Burns Oregon were holding a “Birding Festival” when I arrived in the area. In my past visits to the region, I’d always forsaken my explorations around town to focus on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. I made an exception on this trip, and was rewarded with some nice surprises. |
Date Taken: 2022:04:23 18:02 |
Location:
North Foley Drive |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CaliforniaQuail_8504039-BurnsOregon |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

Click map markers to reveal further information