Chi-ca-go

Chi-ca-go is the call of the California Quail. This fellow was belting it out for several minutes.

 

California Quail (Callipepla californica) Male

 

Emigrant Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA

 

Habitat : Scrub

Food : Seeds

Nesting : Ground

Behavior : Ground Forager

Conservation : Low Concern

 

"The California Quail is a handsome, round soccer ball of a bird with a rich gray breast, intricately scaled underparts, and a curious, forward-drooping head plume. Its stiffly accented Chi-ca-go call is a common sound of the chaparral and other brushy areas of California and the Northwest. Often seen scratching at the ground in large groups or dashing forward on blurred legs, California Quail are common but unobtrusive. They flush to cover if scared, so approach them gently..... The California Quail digests vegetation with the help of protozoans in its intestine. Chicks acquire the protozoans by pecking at the feces of adults."

- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology

 

 

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