Callipepla gambelii
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahua and the Colorado River region of Baja California. Gambel's quail is named in honor of William Gambel, a 19th-century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States.
The species is not as widely introduced as the related California quail. It was, however, released on San Clemente Island in 1912 by Charles T. Howland et al., where it is currently still established. The Callipepla gambelii birds are easily recognized by their top knots and scaly plumage on their undersides. Gambel's quail have bluish-gray plumage on much of their bodies, and males have copper feathers on the top of their heads, black faces, and white stripes above their eyes. Their average length is 11 in (28 cm) with a wingspan of 14–16 in (36–41 cm). These birds have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs. Their diet consists primarily of plant matter and seeds.
Gambel's quail can be commonly confused with California quail due to... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 4 | Royal Burgers' Zoo | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 5 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | ZooAmerica | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Alameda Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Staten Island Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Gambel's Quail sighting in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, based on 1,996 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 141 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–June and August
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Gambel's Quail in Joshua Tree National Park on a given day, against about 30% in February and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gambel's Quail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Gambel's Quail sightings, Joshua Tree National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Saguaro National Park (United States, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gambel's Quail is recorded against all the birds logged in Joshua Tree National Park (1,996 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
