Today is National Bird Day in the United States, so it's the perfect time to mention our state bird and if you weren't aware of what it was then you might be surprised.
The California state bird is the California Quail.
The California Quail was established as the state bird in 1931 and unlike some other migratory birds, the quail is a year-round resident of California - The bird can be found mostly on the west coast of North America and from British Columbia through Baja California.
They tend to be fairly plump, short-necked game birds with a small head and bill. These birds can also fly, but just long enough to reach cover as their flight is explosive.
Their wingspan is between 12-14 inches and the weight ranges around five to eight ounces. In terms of physical build, the males are slightly larger than females in both height and weight while boasting a larger head plume. The male has a distinctive face pattern that includes a brown forehead crown with a black throat edged in white while the females face and throats are muted brown.
These ground-dwelling birds are mainly vegetarian seed eaters who eat leaves, berries, flowers and other plants, but they have tendencies to also eat different types of insects, according to the Sacramento Zoo.
The Partners in Flight network, who collaborate to protect land birds across the Western Hemisphere, estimate that the global breeding population is around 3.8 million California Quails, with 71 percent living in the U.S and 11 percent in Mexico.
If you have never seen them it's probably because the birds liken areas with bushes and tend to live in habitats like grasslands, foothills, woodlands, canyons, the edges of deserts, parks or suburbs.
The California Quail is a high sociable bird that gathers in small flocks called coveys that numbers between 10-200 birds and despite being around up to 200 quails at a time, a fun fact is that these birds like to take dust baths.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently has their population status as least concern.
There are none at the Sacramento Zoo.
