Scaled Quail

Status: Populations have declined by about 38 percent from 1966 to 1991.

Habitat/Range: Scaled quail prefer arid to semi-arid, mixed shrub-grassland found in places like south-central Arizona, northern New Mexico, east-central Colorado, southwestern Kansas, south through western Oklahoma, western Texas and interior through northeastern Mexico.

Threats: Habitat change from cattle overgrazing is the greatest threat to scaled quail. Grass cover is lost through overgrazing, and shrub cover is eliminated when  mixed shrub-grasslands are converted to grasslands to improve forage. Moderate grazing, however, can improve habitat conditions in some circumstances.

Restoration Potential: Reducing grazing pressure through pasture rotation or reductions in stocking rates can improve habitat conditions by promoting the preferred mix of shrubs and grasses.

Places We Are Protecting:

• Hip-O Ranch, Texas
• Chico Basin/Bohart Ranch, Colorado

Learn More:
View a species management abstract for this bird.

Illustrations by David Allen Sibley from The National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. Copyright © 2000 by Chanticleer Press and David Allen Sibley. No illustrations may be copied, reproduced, or reused without the express written permission of the copyright holders.