California Quail

25 cm, 180 g. Small partridge with forward-curving topknot crest plume, smaller in female. Male has a black throat bordered by a white band, blue-grey breast and scaly upperparts. Female duller. Male has a loud 3-syllable call: ''chi-ca-go'' or ''where are you?'', with emphasis on the second syllable. Habitat: Open country with patches of low scrub, riverbeds flanked by willows and gorse. Breeding: Sep-Mar.