Scaled Quail - Distribution and Taxonomy

Distribution and Taxonomy

Scaled quail occur from south-central Arizona, northern New Mexico, east-central Colorado, and southwestern Kansas south through western Oklahoma and western and central Texas into Mexico to northeastern Jalisco, Guanajuato, Queretaru, Hidalgo, and western Tamaulipas. It has been introduced to Hawaii, central Washington, eastern Nevada, and Nebraska, but is only considered established in central Washington and eastern Nevada.

Scaled Quail has formed several subspecies, 3 of which range into the USA:

• Callipepla squamata squamata (Altiplano Scaled Quail). The nominate subspecies; it is only found on the Central Plateau (altiplano) of Mexico.

• Callipepla squamata pallida (Northern Scaled Quail). The most common subspecies, it occurs from Arizona and New Mexico to Colorado and just into Oklahoma, and western Texas, northern Chihuahua, and Sonora. It is paler than the nominate subspecies.

• Callipepla squamata hargravei (Upper Sonoran Scaled Quail). A form of arid habitat, it is only found in the area where the states of Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma meet, and in northwestern New Mexico. It is the palest subspecies, adapted to dry and sandy habitat.

• Callipepla squamata castanogastris (Chestnut-bellied Scaled Quail). Found in southern Texas from Eagle Pass and San Antonio south to adjacent northwestern Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas). Similar individuals are sometimes found in the extreme northeast and west of the species' range. The chestnut brown belly distinguishes it from all other subspecies; it is also darker than the other two found in the USA.