California Quail
California QuailCalifornia QuailCalifornia QuailCalifornia Quail

California Quail

Callipepla californica

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Tongariro National Park
77 Verified sightings at Tongariro National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,591 Verified sightings across all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month highest sighting rate
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted at dawn and dusk

About the California Quail

The California quail (Callipepla californica), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family, inhabiting western North America. It is the state bird of California.

There are seven recognized subspecies: C. c. californica (Shaw, 1798) – northern Oregon and western Nevada to southern California and Coronado Islands C. c. achrustera (Peters, 1923) – San Lucas California quail – southern Baja California

C. c. brunnescens (Ridgway, 1884) – extreme northern coastal California to southern Santa Cruz County C. c. canfieldae (Van Rossem, 1939) – Owen Valley quail – Owens Valley of east central California C. c. catalinensis (Grinnell, 1906) – Santa Catalina quail – Santa Catalina Island (off southern California)

C. c. orecta (Oberholser, 1932) – Warner Valley quail – Warner Valley in Oregon to extreme northern California C. c. plumbea (Grinnell, 1926) – San Quintin California quail – San Diego County to southern Baja California Their closest relative is Gambel's quail, which has a more southerly distribution and a longer crest at 2.5 in (6.4 cm), a brighter head... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tongariro National Park

Ring-necked Pheasant
LC

Ring-necked Pheasant

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Phasianus colchicus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Wild Turkey
LC

Wild Turkey

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Meleagris gallopavo

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Common Peafowl
LC

Common Peafowl

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pavo cristatus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
2 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
3 Nahuel Huapi National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~30%
4 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
5 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
6 Tongariro National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
7 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Arthur's Pass National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
<5%
9 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
Insufficient data
10 Egmont National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
11 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Insufficient data
12 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a California Quail in Tongariro National Park?

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a California Quail sighting in Tongariro National Park, based on 77 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see California Quail in Tongariro National Park?

December has the highest sighting rate for California Quail in Tongariro National Park in our monthly data.

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