Scaled Quail
4832425
206018976
2008-04-16T13:59:28Z
Beetstra
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/168.137.100.21|168.137.100.21]] ([[User talk:168.137.100.21|talk]]) to last version by Michael Devore
{{Taxobox
| name = Scaled Quail
| image = Callipepla_squamataUSDAalt.jpg
| image_caption = Northern Scaled Quail on post in E. New Mexico. Photo by Gary Kramer, [[USDA]] [[NRCS]]
| status = LC
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Galliformes]]
| familia = [[Odontophoridae]]
| genus = ''[[Callipepla]]''
| species = '''''C. squamata'''''
| binomial = ''Callipepla squamata''
| binomial_authority = ([[Nicholas Aylward Vigors|Vigors]], [[1830]])
| subdivision_ranks = [[Subspecies]]
| subdivision = ''see text''
| synonyms =
''Ortyx squamatus'' {{Taxobox_authority | author = Vigors | date = 1830}}
}}
The '''Scaled Quail''' (''Callipepla squamata''), also commonly called '''Blue Quail''' or '''cottontop''', is a [[species]] of the [[New World quail]] [[family (biology)|family]]. It is a bluish gray bird found in the [[arid]] regions of the [[Southwestern United States]] to Central [[Mexico]]. This species is an early offshoot of the genus ''Callipepla'', diverging in the [[Pliocene]] (Zink & Blackwell, 1998).
This bird is named for the scaly appearance of its breast and back feathers. Along with its scaly markings, the bird is easily identified by its white crest that resembles a tuft of [[cotton]].
The nest is typically a grass-lined hollow containing 9-16 speckled eggs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly.
Widespread and common throughout its range, the Scaled Quail is evaluated as Least Concern on the [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]].
The Scaled Quail occupied a wider range during the drier conditions of the [[last ice age]], inhabiting also areas northwest of its present range up to the [[Colorado River]] (Rea, 1973). It has formed several [[subspecies]], 3 of which range into the USA:
* ''Callipepla squamata squamata'' <small>Vigors, 1830</small> (Altiplano Scaled Quail). The [[nominate subspecies]]; it is only found on the Central Plateau (''altiplano'') of [[Mexico]].
* ''Callipepla squamata pallida'' <small>Brewster, 1881</small> (Northern Scaled Quail). The most common subspecies, it occurs from [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]] to [[Colorado]] and just into [[Oklahoma]], and western [[Texas]], northern [[Chihuahua]], and [[Sonora]]. It is paler than the nominate subspecies.
* ''Callipepla squamata hargravei'' <small>Rea, 1973</small> (Upper Sonoran Scaled Quail). A form of [[arid]] habitat, it is only found in the area where the states of Colorado, [[Kansas]] and Oklahoma meet, and in northwestern New Mexico. It is the palest subspecies, adapted to dry and sandy habitat.
* ''Callipepla squamata castanogastris'' <small>Brewster, 1883</small> (Chestnut-bellied Scaled Quail). Found in southern Texas from [[Eagle Pass, Texas|Eagle Pass]] and [[San Antonio]] south to adjacent northwestern Mexico ([[Coahuila]], [[Nuevo León]], and [[Tamaulipas]]). Similar individuals are sometimes found in the extreme northeast and west of the species' range (Schemnitz, 1994). The chestnut brown belly distinguishes it from all other subspecies; it is also darker than the other two found in the USA.
==References==
* {{IUCN2006|assessors='''BirdLife International'''|year=2004|id=47100|title=Callipepla squamata|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* '''Peterson''', Roger Tory (1998): ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Texas and Adjacent States.'' Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-92138-4
* '''Rea''', Amadeo M. (1973): The Scaled Quail (''Callipepla squamata'') of the southwest: systematic and historical consideration. ''[[Condor (journal)|Condor]]'' '''75''': 322–329. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v075n03/p0322-p0329.pdf PDF fulltext]
* '''Schemnitz''', Sanford D. (1994): Scaled Quail (''Callipepla squamata''). ''In:'' Poole, A. & Gill, F.: ''The Birds of North America'' '''106'''. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA & The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
* '''Zink''', Robert M. & '''Blackwell''', Rachelle C. (1998): Molecular systematics of the Scaled Quail complex (genus ''Callipepla''). ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' '''115'''(2): 394-403. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v115n02/p0394-p0403.pdf PDF fulltext]
==External links==
{{Commons|Callipepla squamata}}
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=316&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=964 Scaled Quail videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Scientific&KEYWORDS=callipepla+squamata&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Scaled Quail photo gallery] VIREO
[[Category:Callipepla]]
[[Category:Game birds]]
[[Category:Birds of the United States|Quail, Scaled]]
[[Category:Birds of Mexico|Quail, Scaled]]
[[Category:Fauna of Northern Mexico|Quail, Scaled]]
[[Category:Birds of the U.S. Rio Grande Valleys|Quail, Scaled]]
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[[fr:Callipepla squamata]]
[[hu:Pikkelyes fogasfürj]]