Abstract
A true denizen of the desert is the
Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata}, the
only native gallinaceous bird in the great
arid interior of Mexico. It is a good looking
bird, rather quiet and dignified in its
colors. Leopold, in Wildlife of Mexico,
describes it:
Pale gray with a tufted whitish
cresh. Head and neck brownish
gray, paler on throat. Fore back,
sides, and chest steel gray, each
feather bordered with black, giving
a scaled effect. Underparts buffy
gray, the breast feathers scaled,
all ventral body feathers with a
brown streak along the shaft.