The California quail (Callipepla californica), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks. Males have a dark brown cap and a black face with a brown back, a grey-blue chest and a light brown belly. Females and immature birds are mainly grey-brown with a light-colored belly. Their closest relative is Gambel's quail, which has a more southerly distribution and a longer crest at , a brighter head and lacks the scaly appearance of the California quail. The two species separated about 1–2 million years ago, during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene. It was selected as the state bird of California in 1931. Taxonomy Subspecies There are seven recognized subspecies: C. c. achrustera (Peters, 1923) – San Lucas California quail – southern Baja California C. c. brunnescens (Ridgway, 1884) – extreme northern coastal California to southern Santa Cruz County C. c. californica (Shaw, 1798) – northern Oregon and western Nevada to southern California and Coronado Islands C. c. canfieldae (Van Rossem, 1939) – Owen Valley quail – Owens Valley of east central California C. c. catalinensis (Grinnell, 1906) – Santa Catalina quail – Santa Catalina Island (off southern California) C. c. orecta (Oberholser, 1932) – Warner Valley quail – Warner Valley in Oregon to extreme northern California C. c. plumbea (Grinnell, 1926) – San Quintin California quail – San Diego County to southern Baja California Behavior The California quail is a highly sociable bird that often gathers in small flocks known as "coveys". One of their daily communal activities is a dust bath. A group of quail will select an area where the ground has been newly turned or is soft, and using their underbellies, will burrow downward into the soil some one to two inches. They then wriggle about in the indentations they have created, flapping their wings and ruffling their feathers, causing dust to rise in the air. They seem to prefer sunny places in which to create these dust baths. An ornithologist is able to detect the presence of quail in an area by spotting the circular indentations left behind in the soft dirt, some in diameter. They are year-round residents. Although this bird coexists