CreatureData

Scaled quail

Callipepla squamata (Vigors, 1830)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) is a species in the family Odontophoridae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 177 g to 191 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata)
Photo: Greg Schechter from San Francisco, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the scaled quail

Weight
177 g – 191 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
22.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
12.9src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the scaled quail live?

Not recorded

What is the scaled quail?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), also commonly called blue quail or cottontop, is a species of the New World quail 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.

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Scaled quail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scaled_quail&oldid=1357489685), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the scaled quail endangered?

The scaled quail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the scaled quail classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyOdontophoridae
  6. genusCallipepla
  7. SpeciesCallipepla squamata (Vigors, 1830)

Synonyms Callipepla strenua

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • سمان محرشفArabic
  • colí escatósCatalan
  • křepel šupinkatýCzech
  • sofliar gennogWelsh
  • SkælvagtelDanish
  • SchuppenwachtelGerman
  • Schuppen-WaldwachtelGerman
  • SkvamokoturnoEsperanto
  • skvama arbokoturnoEsperanto
  • Colín escamadoSpanish
  • Codorniz escamosaSpanish
  • soomus-tuttvuttEstonian
  • بلدرچین پولکدارPersian
  • suomuviiriäinenFinnish
  • Colin écailléFrench
  • שליו קשקשיםHebrew
  • kukmasta prepelicaCroatian
  • pikkelyes fogasfürjHungarian
  • Quaglia squamataItalian
  • ウロコウズラJapanese
  • žvynuotoji putpelėLithuanian
  • zvīņotā paipalaLatvian
  • Díłdánii łibáhígííNavajo
  • Geschubde KwartelDutch
  • skjellvaktelNorwegian
  • przepiór łuskowanyPolish
  • colim-escamosoPortuguese
  • codorniz-escamosaPortuguese
  • Чешуйчатый перепелRussian
  • Чешуйчатая куропаткаRussian
  • prepelka šupinatáSlovak
  • Ljuskava prepelicaSerbian
  • fjällig tofsvaktelSwedish
  • Pullu KolinTurkish
  • перепелиця строкатобокаUkrainian
  • 鳞斑鹑Chinese
  • 鱗斑翎鶉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the scaled quail

Other species in the same genus Callipepla.

CompareScaled quail vs California quailScaled quail vs Elegant quailScaled quail vs Gambel's quail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the scaled quail?

An adult scaled quail weighs 177 g – 191 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the scaled quail endangered?

The scaled quail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the scaled quail?

The scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) belongs to the family Odontophoridae in the order Galliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaled-quail

MLA

“Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaled-quail.

BibTeX
@misc{scaled_quail_2026,
  title = {Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaled-quail},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}