ID: Hybrid California x Gambel's Quail

If you report sightings of Gambel's Quail to eBird on your visit to the mesquite Bosque in the Anza-Borrego Desert, you'll be prompted for details or photos. Why?

In most of their ranges California Quail and Gambel's Quail are strongly separated by habitat and don't overlap. There are a couple of places in the eastern parts of southern California where the ranges of these two quail do meet. The Anza-Borrego Desert is one such area, with the town of Borrego Springs right on the edge of this tiny area of overlap between the California Quail descending from the oak hills above to the west and the Gambel's Quail from the mesquite and cactus desert to the east.

When birding in this area one should record most quail detected as "California/Gambel's Quail" unless you get a very good look. Evidently, based on the reference below, there is no impediment to breeding between the two species. They interbreed freely. Gambel's Quail have a wider variety of songs and calls than California Quail, so in the area of overlap voice is an unreliable identification feature. Evidently the birds themselves don't care what calls and songs are given when choosing potential mates. Fortunately, the area of overlap is small and the hybrid region restricted to this small area of overlap.

"Quails are sedentary, and typically move less than 5 miles during the course of their lives." --Jennifer M. Gee. 2003. Causes and Consequences of Hybridization Between California and Gambel's Quail (Callipepla californica and C. gambelii). Princeton University Press.

Birders do not take DNA sequencers into the field. Even direct hybrids don't always show it--they can look like "pure" members of either parent species, or a mixture. So even though birds of many species probably have some hybrid ancestors somewhere in their past; go with what you see.

I searched The Birds of North America species account for Gambel's Quail and its references, Western Birds, and the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive (SORA), as well as Google generally, and was unable to find descriptions or identification articles specifically separating California and Gambel's Quail from hybrids. There seems to be more identification material on gamebird breeding websites than on birding websites. Certainly someone must have covered this identification before? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you.

So, without an identification article immediately available, we'll go with the field guide descriptions and my recent photos to create a 5-criteria preliminary hybrid quail identification guideline:

1) Crown color on males (brown or rusty)
2) Forehead coloration on males (pale or black)
3) Upper breast/back color (dark gray or pale blue-gray)
4) Lower breast scaling (strong or nearly absent)
5) Belly patch on males (formed by dense brown scaling or more solid blackish)

Let's examine some photos I took recently at the Borrego Springs Resort on January 7, 2018. There were over 35 birds visiting a residential feeder that appeared to be both pure California Quail and Gambel's Quail, as well as apparent hybrids. About 15 of these birds I didn't get good looks at. All in all, though, under field birding conditions, plumage-wise this group of quail looked to be mostly Gambel's Quail and hybrids.

The lighting was overcast, creating slightly darker and duller colors without strong contrasting shadows. Some of the birds were under trees, others were out in the open.

Photo 1. Typical-looking male California Quail. 1) Brown crown. 2) Pale forehead. 3) Dark gray upper parts. 4) Scaled lower breast. 5) Brown scaling on pale belly converge to form rusty patch.

Photo 2. Typical-looking male Gambel's Quail. 1) Rusty crown. 2) Black forehead. 3) Pale blue-gray upper parts. 4) Rather clear cream-colored lower breast. 5) Dark belly patch with faint scaling.

The scaled hind-neck is supposed to be more defined on California Quail. Additionally, the flanks are supposed to be brown on California and rusty on Gambel's. Frankly, the viewing angle makes quite a bit of difference on birds in the field, so they are not as reliable or observable as the other marks. After looking at many photos online, I really can't see a difference.

Let's take a look at more of my photos from January.

Photo 3. Gambel's Quail. Though a bit distant as it ran across the road, this male has all the proper marks for Gambel's Quail, notably the rusty crown, black forehead, pale blue-gray upper breast, unmarked cream-colored lower breast and black belly patch.

Photo 4. A pair of Gambel's Quail. Both birds show the pale blue-gray upper breast and the unmarked cream-colored lower breast. There are only these two criteria on females. The male shows a blackish belly patch, but crown and forehead criteria are not visible in this view.

Photo 5. Gambel's Quail. Again, all 5 criteria point to Gambel's.

Photo 6. Apparent hybrid California x Gambel's Quail. At first glance this bird appears most-similar to Gambel's Quail. But all 5 criteria aren't unambiguous. 1) Crown is darker brown favoring California. 2) Forehead is paler than black face favoring California. 3) Upper breast half way between the dark gray of California the light blue-gray of Gambel's. 4) The pale cream lower breast has hint of scaling, but favors Gambel's. 5) The belly patch is not as solid dark as it could be but still favors Gambel's.

Photo 7. Apparent hybrid California x Gambel's Quail. At first glance this bird appears most-similar to California Quail. Again, the 5 criteria mix to favor different species. 1) Crown fairly rusty favors Gambel's. 2) Forehead is pale as California. 3) Upper breast rather pale blue-gray favoring Gambel's. 4) Lower breast heavily scaled as California. 5) Dark belly patch as Gambel's.

I'm glad I ran into this large flock of easily-photographed birds in a residential area. Most of my quail records here are of birds flushing away in a burst, or of single warning calls in the brush and maybe a glimpse running away. Based on current eBird filters, California Quail and hybrids are accepted without comment in this area but Gambel's require descriptions. So finding a preponderance of Gambel's was a bit unexpected. Then again, because it is so hard to get decent views of these sneaky birds, and the identification criteria is not easy to find, I wonder how many birders bother to separate them. Perhaps this post will help. I know researching this has helped me.

Humpback Whale off San Diego

On January 1st I participated in a pelagic birding trip from San Diego Bay traveling about 15 miles offshore from La Jolla, and back.

We spotted a couple of whales--both Gray and Humpback. Here is a series of photos of one of the Humpback Whales.

Upon surfacing the whale blows immediately with not much body visible above the water. This is a moment later. Blowholes visible on the top of the head (right), and the upper back to the dorsal fin (hump).

The rather sharp triangular peak of the dorsal fin on the back of Humpback Whale. Diagnostic.

Strongly curved end of the flukes also identify Humpback Whales. It's not a tail... whales don't have tails. The underside of the flukes (not visible in this photo) are patterned white and dark, each individualized as a fingerprint. The flukes only rise above the water like this when the whale dives. It will remain down for 10 minutes or so after this view.

My 10 best bird photos of 2017

Capturing a good bird photo requires a close subject, good lighting, an uncluttered background, and a well-posed bird. A wildlife photographer doesn't often have very much control over the conditions and the subject. So, a bit of luck is also required.

Travel back in time with me to last year and view my best photos of the year...

Brown Pelican. Mission Bay, California. January 1, 2017.

I started New Years Day 2017 with the annual pelagic trip sponsored by the San Diego Field Ornithologists. While the just-completed 2018 trip started in dense fog, the 2017 trip out of Mission Bay was sunny. This pelican caught the low morning sun in the harbor as we departed.

Burrowing Owl. San Diego River mouth, San Diego, California. January 1, 2017.

After the pelagic trip I stopped nearby to look for the Burrowing Owl I had missed a couple of weeks earlier. It was right there in the ice plant where everyone else had reported it! Easy to photograph as it was not 8 feet off the road with bikers and dog walkers going by continuously all winter.

Male Western Bluebird. Escondido, California. January 3, 2017.

On the pelagic trip Nancy C. gave me a tip on where I might have a good vantage point to photograph Zone-tailed Hawks that roost in winter at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They roost with Turkey Vultures in the Park, then fly out with them in late morning. I arrived too early, and had to leave well before noon--a better time, perhaps. But this Western Bluebird was a nice consolation. It really wasn't; but it was a nice photo, nonetheless.

Female Mountain Bluebird. Ramona, California. January 29, 2017.

Near the Ramona Grasslands Preserve is a farmland road of exactly 1 mile that is always worth a stop in winter for hawks, geese, and rather rare Mountain Bluebirds. This makes a nice complement to the Western Bluebird from earlier in the month.

Male Ring-necked Duck. Escondido, California. March 28, 2017.

Female Ring-necked Duck. Escondido, California. March 28, 2017.

In late March I caught a sunny morning with numerous ducks at Kit Carson Park in Escondido. I couldn't decide whether the bright male Ring-necked Duck was my favorite, or whether it was the simpler brown female. So I present them both here.

Yellow-breasted Chat. San Pasqual Valley, California. April 5, 2017.

In early April I birded the Highland Valley Trail in the San Dieguito River Park near Escondido. I was surprised and delighted to find an early Yellow-breasted Chat singing away. It was even better to get several very good photos.

Marbled Godwit. Imperial Beach, California. July 16, 2017.

Marlene was missing the miles of nearly-empty beaches we formerly enjoyed in Oregon. That's a bit difficult where every day is a beautiful day, and most of the population lives within 15 minutes of the beaches. So I took Marlene to the beach at the mouth of the Tijuana River in Imperial Beach. Though it is about a 45 minute drive from our home, it is Marlene's favorite. There are very few people on the beach and there are usually some interesting shells washed up. We ended up visiting several times during the year.

California Gnatcatcher. Escondido, California. October 11, 2017.

Sometimes the secret of getting a good bird photo is just to take lots of photos. The California Gnatcatcher is an endangered bird of San Diego's coastal sage scrub habitat. This is a habitat that is being plowed under for housing developments. So I take photos every time I see and hear these birds. They are tiny and active, crawling through the brush and peeing out from the foliage. So I'm pleased with this photo without a distracting branch cutting across the face as is typical for most of my photos of this species.

Rock Wren. Ramona, California. November 26, 2017.

Another run out to Rangeland road in Ramona provided me with Mountain Bluebirds, a Merlin, and a Burrowing Owl. Plus, I got excellent photos of a Rock Wren that seemed as curious about me as I was about it.

This completes my favorite photos from the year 2017. I'm impressed that it includes none of the photogenic and abundant herons and egrets. Though I do have many photos of them, too. I think I attended 4 or 5 ocean birding boat trips last year. I didn't come up with any truly extraordinary at-sea photos this year. Though a Brown Booby off San Diego would probably make this list if expanded to the top 12 birds. And I didn't travel much outside San Diego County this past year, so all the best photos were near home. I hope you enjoyed these!

Rarity: Groove-billed Ani

On November 19th a visiting birder found a first-county record Groove-billed Ani in an infrequently-birded park in Encinitas. Word got out quickly and many birders saw the bird that first day.

I had the opportunity to chase it before work on the next day. I arrived just before 7:00 am, birded around the exact location and then birded farther away, up to a couple blocks into the nearby neighborhood. At 8:00 am I received word that the bird had just showed up sunning itself in the exact place everyone had been looking for it during the previous hour. I was able to watch the bird for another half hour before needing to return home to get ready for work.

Groove-billed Ani. Encinitas, California. November 20, 2017. Greg Gillson.

The first thing to get out of the way is the pronunciation of the word "ani." According to an article in Birding magazine (Birding 1990) it is pronounced AH-nee and not ANN-ee or AY-nee. Okay. Good.

There are three ani species found primarily in tropical America. Two, Smooth-billed Ani and Groove-billed Ani, reach the United States. The photo above shows the grooves in the unusual deeply keeled bill.

Anis, like roadrunners, are in the cuckoo family. The loose plumage and floppy tail is typical. These birds fly weakly and wobbly, and often run and feed on the ground. Indeed, some photographers got great pictures of it eating a very large grasshopper on the ground. During the time I observed this bird, however, it was content to sit still, fluff up, and soak up the warm sun while looking around at all the birders about 25-30 feet away.

Groove-billed Anis (Wikipedia page here) are found from southern Texas and southern Sonora southward to Ecuador and Peru. During winter the birds in Texas and northern Mexico retreat southward. While rare, they are known to wander widely in fall, from Florida to California, occasionally very far north of the normal range (Minnesota, northern Ontario, New Jersey).

Of course, this close to Tijuana (where all kinds of birds are sold as "pets"), one must always ask about the origin of this bird.

Fortunately, while a first record for San Diego County, it fits nicely in the pattern of occurrence of other California and Southwest records from early September through December, with a peak in October.

There are 12 accepted previous California sightings reviewed by the California Bird Records Committee. Eight (nine?) of the sightings are for fall (13 September-16 November). In addition, at least twice California birds have stayed through the winter. The most recent three previous California records seem to be 2015, 1998, and 1995. So this is only the second record in 20 years.

And the bird is still being seen, so maybe it will spend the winter!

Baird's Sandpiper at Imperial Beach

Scratching an itch. Graphite drawing by Greg Gillson.

On August 27th I was able to locate a previously discovered Baird's Sandpiper on the beach at Imperial Beach, California. It was readily approachable or, rather, it fearlessly approached near me as I sat motionless and as it foraged among the beach-cast kelp on the upper beach. I was able to obtain many photos at close range.

Stepping into a depression. Graphite drawing by Greg Gillson.

One thing many birders noted about this bird was how unusually wide the body of this bird sometimes appeared. The breast feathers flared out widely covering the lower part of the folded wings. I have noted ducks give a very wide-bodied appearance like this, but never other birds. It's something I'll have to pay more attention to. If you think I surely must have misdrawn the proportions, please look at the reference photo below.

I was especially pleased to photograph and draw interesting postures that aren't depicted in bird books that usually show the rather uninteresting "field guide" pose.

"Field Guide" pose.

The identification of Baird's Sandpiper is rather subtle. At first glance it seems to match the field marks of the smaller North American "peep"--Western, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers. The bill is about the same length as the head as the Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers. The legs are black as the Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers.  Baird's Sandpipers are a bit larger than the other three, however, if they are seen together.

One noteworthy identification mark is that the wing tips extend quite far past the end of the tail. This gives a very long attenuated look to the rear of the body. In general, birds that migrate long distances have long wings; birds that don't migrate have short wings.

Looking behind. Colored pencil by Greg Gillson.

In the fall of the year, juveniles, such as the one depicted, have rows of white tipped back and scapular feathers. These create a "scaly" appearance to the upper parts. Adults are not nearly as bold.

Baird's Sandpiper breed at the northern edge of land in the Arctic, from northeastern Siberia, Alaska, Canada, to northwestern Greenland. When they migrate south they may be found on ocean beaches. But it is not unusual to encounter them on mountain glaciers. In winter they can be found in the Andes of South America in Ecuador and Chile, but also in lower areas in Bolivia, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela. Spring migration is through Central American and Mexico and north generally east of the Rocky Mountains in North America. They are a bit more widespread in fall migration, reaching all the way to the Pacific Coast in low numbers, as this bird.

Portrait: Baird's Sandpiper.