Gambel's quail

American  

[gahm-buhls kweyl] / ˈgɑm bəls ˈkweɪl /

noun

1. a bluish-gray true quail, Callipepla gambelii, with a distinctive forward-curving plume, or topknot: native to the desert areas of the western U.S., it is often confused with the California quail, but the Gambel’s quail has a somewhat longer topknot and, on the male, a copper-colored cap.

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Etymology

Origin of Gambel's quail

First recorded in 1850–55; named after William Gambel (1823–49), U.S. ornithologist and botanist

Example Sentences

In thorn scrub, one of the trademark types of vegetation is tree ocotillo, a relative of a plant found in the habitat of their American Gambel’s quail cousins.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

Perhaps the most interesting will be comparing Gambel’s quail that I have studied in the United States with those in southwestern Sonora State.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

In dry years, hardly any quail breed, and the survivors are more like Gambel’s quail than like California quail.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

Knowing where the elegant quail are at Pedregal, I can afford to leave for a few days to investigate this putative subspecies of Gambel’s quail.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

Also I'd indicated prairie dogs and squinch owls and Gambel's quail and road runners and a couple of coyotes and lizards and other miscellaneous fauna.

From The Killer by White, Stewart Edward