The striking top-knot feathers of Gambel’s Quail and the California Quail make them two of my favorite birds. The males of both birds have a similar forward-curved black feather sticking out of their forehead. The Gambel’s Quail has brown and white streaked flank feathers and a yellow horizontal stripe on the abdomen with a black patch lower down the belly. Both the Gambel’s and California Quails have a grey breast. Several close-up photos of the head of the male Gambel’s Quail are shown.
In the female Gambel’s Quail the top-knot feather is smaller and thinner (8803, 8907)