Submission (#5309) Approved

California Quail are something near and dear to me, I live rural and often find myself waking up in the morning to find. Apparently, that’s not common in other places in California as Quail have been endemic of the whole state and is the states bird but some parts of California have completely lost their populations of quail. To my area there is a lot of quail and in fact the biggest factor for their survival is that we leave vegetation alone so that the quail can build their communal broods called coveys which are families of quail living together to protect themselves from potential predators. These coveys can be as large as 100 individuals. As California quail are ground dwelling birds, they forage for food such as seeds and insects.
My population of quail is thriving I often seen them very active in the morning and evening. They are of least concern in most regions and have done well to adapt to the large number of human constructions. However, San Francisco lost their population of quail completely in 2017, to combat this they have recently introduced a population of quail into the area but it seems to be incredibly difficult due to natural predators (ie foxes, hawk, coyote, snakes..), lack of habitat and unnatural predators (stray cats and dogs). The biggest factor of why the quail in the region went extinct for San Francisco is cats. Feral cats have been an issue with ground dwelling birds since their introduction into other areas in the world. They have decimated populations of birds across the world and the California quail is no different. A big factor to help the quail in the area succeed would be to t-n-r the feral/stray cats in the area and help promote keeping house cats inside. First because it’s safer for house cats as they don’t end up eating something they shouldn’t as well as preventing cat and bird contact. Cats are a vector of disease to birds along with being predators. As much as I like warrior cats, cats shouldn’t be allowed to form colonies and hunt birds like quail, who do not have any natural differences. In this case it’s us humans who need to take care to make sure the animals introduced into the environment aren’t over running and out competing with the animals native to the region.
One thing that is cool about California quail is their sexual dimorphism. You can tell the difference between the male as they have a pronounced top knot called a plume and is completely black. Well, the male’s body is distinctly brown and white with blue under tone. The female difference is the plume is brown and much smaller less pronounced. Along with females, immature quail are brown and with a light belly to help blend into the ground and foliage. The California Quail are diverse in their landscapes, but it seems that they are not very genetically diverse as they are very close to each other even from some of the island quail found around California.

Sites referenced.
https://www.california.com/what-is-the-california-state-bird/
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/quail-san-francisco-cats-last-state-bird-12309957.php#item-85307-tbla-43
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v115n02/p0394-p0403.pdf

photos used
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/california-quail
- https://media.audubon.org/nas_birdapi/apa_2013_29017_230234_timkuhn_california_quail_kk_adult_male.jpg
- https://media.audubon.org/nas_birdapi/apa_2012_24996_193665_alicecahill_california_quail_kk_adult_female_and_adult_male.jpg
https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/california-quail-and-running
- https://www.birdnote.org/sites/default/files/styles/show_banner/public/California-Quail-and-chicks-800-J-Maughn-CC.jpg?h=827069f2&itok=WdLOmu18
https://www.vannattabros.com/bird20.html
- https://www.vannattabros.com/16-06/cq3255.jpg
https://www.california.com/what-is-the-california-state-bird/
- second image