Scaled Quail vs Montezuma Quail

Callipepla squamata comparado con Cyrtonyx montezumae

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Atributo Scaled Quail Montezuma Quail
Nombre científico Callipepla squamata Cyrtonyx montezumae
Orden Galliformes Galliformes
Familia Odontophoridae Odontophoridae
Estado de conservación Least Concern Least Concern
Longitud
Envergadura 23,2 cm (9.1 in) 24,0 cm (9.4 in)
Peso 195,5 g (6.90 oz) 185,5 g (6.54 oz)
Dieta Feeds on seeds, leaves, and cacti in arid southwestern US scrubland. Takes invertebrates especially during … Omnivorous; digs for bulbs, tubers, seeds, and invertebrates with its stout bill in Mexican pine-oak …
Tamaño de la puesta 3-16 2-15
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Hábitats compartidos

Scaled Quail only

Montezuma Quail only

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Song & Call Comparison

Scaled Quail

Canto

Male gives a nasal, emphatic pay-COS call; coveys scatter with rapid, chattering clucks. The distinctive, nasal pay-COS call is the species' advertising call; carries across desert grassland.

Montezuma Quail

Canto

Eerie, descending wavering whistle 'wheeeoo' given by male from grass; ghostly and ventriloquial. Alarm is a low nasal 'wee-wee'; flushed birds produce loud burst of wing beats.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Scaled Quail

Resident in the semi-arid grasslands and desert scrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Found in arid and semi-arid plains.

Montezuma Quail

Resident in the mountains of Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas at 1,400-3,000 m. Found in oak and pine-oak woodland.

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Estado de conservación

Least Concern

Scaled Quail

Least Concern

Montezuma Quail

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How to Tell Them Apart

Scaled Quail

Plumaje

Bluish-grey overall with black-edged feathers creating prominent scaly pattern on breast and flanks; white-tipped crest fluffy and pale; back brownish-grey; sexes similar but female slightly duller.

Montezuma Quail

Plumaje

Male has harlequin black-and-white face with bold white stripes and spots; chestnut-brown body with white spots on flanks; blue-grey crest; female cryptically mottled brown with faint facial pattern.

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About These Birds

Scaled Quail

Codorniz escamosa de 25–30 cm con plumaje escamoso gris, habita en los matorrales áridos y semiáridos del suroeste de EE.UU. y norte de México.

Montezuma Quail

A small rotund New World quail (~185 g) of family Odontophoridae, males with a harlequin-patterned black and white face. Inhabits pine-oak and grassland habitats in montane areas from Arizona and Texas to Honduras. Forages by digging bulbs and tubers with strong curved claws. Least Concern; cryptic and rarely seen; populations declining with overgrazing of native bunchgrass.

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