California Quail
Callipepla californica
New World Quail (Odontophoridae) · Galliformes (Galliformes)
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Often mixed up with
In quizzes, players most often confuse California Quail with these birds— either this species was picked by mistake, or the other way around.
| Species | Mix-ups |
|---|---|
| Gambel's Quail Callipepla gambelii | 8 |
| Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus | 2 |
| Montezuma Quail Cyrtonyx montezumae | 2 |
| Mountain Quail Oreortyx pictus | 1 |
| Greater Sage-Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus | 1 |
Family
The New World quail are small birds, that despite their similar appearance and habits to the Old World quail, belong to a different family known as the Odontophoridae. In contrast, the Old World quail are in the Phasianidae family, sharing only a remote phylogenetic connection with their New World counterparts through their mutual classification within the Phasianoidea superfamily. The geographical range of the New World quail extends from Canada to southern Brazil, and two species, the California quail and the …
Order
Galliformes , also known as gallinaceous birds or landfowl, is an order of heavy-bodied terrestrial birds that contains about 290 species. The order is divided into five families: Phasianidae (chicken and junglefowls, Old World quails, partridges, pheasants, turkeys, peafowl and grouse), Odontophoridae (New World quails), Numididae (guinea fowl), Cracidae (including chachalacas and curassows), and Megapodiidae (incubator birds like malleefowl and brushturkeys). Galliformes and the semi-aquatic order Anseriformes (waterfowl) are collectively called fowl.