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Species authority page

Gambel's quail

Callipepla gambelii · Quail · Upland game birds

Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii): Curving teardrop topknot on the head. White stripes on chestnut-red sides. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the gambel's quail map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Gambel's quail standing on a ledge
Photo by Vijayalakshmi Nidugondi on Unsplash
Scientific name
Callipepla gambelii
Family
Odontophoridae
Range
Desert Southwest of the United States, centred on the Sonoran Desert. Not found in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Curving teardrop topknot on the head. [1]

White stripes on chestnut-red sides. [1]

Male: reddish cap and a black patch in the centre of a yellowish belly. [1]

Female: redder on the sides than a female California quail, with a less scaly belly pattern. [1]

Compared with the california quail: The female Gambel's quail is redder on the sides with a less scaly belly than the female California quail. [1]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Do not identify Gambel's quail from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Brushy Sonoran desert and canyons with open ground, varied shrubs, cactus and mesquite thickets, concentrated near water. Avoids unbroken grassland without shrubs; can be common in open suburbs. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Coveys walk to water in the morning and evening, giving clucking and crowing notes; call is a ringing 'puk-kwaw-cah'. [1]

Forages in flocks from late summer to early spring, mostly on the ground but also in shrubs for berries, leaves and buds. [1]

Coveys roost at night in bushes or low trees. [1]

Mostly vegetarian: seeds, shoots, leaves, cactus fruit and berries such as mistletoe and hackberry. [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Desert Southwest of the United States, centred on the Sonoran Desert. Not found in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society