Quorb (California Quail)


Photo of a pair of incredibly round, plump, round, colorful, and very round (did I say round?) California quail sitting side by side on a hoarfrosted branch of young oak. The adorably and extravagantly orb-y birds are facing forward on the branch, so we see the fluffy brown breast of the female on the left and the puffy grey breast of the male on the right, the lower breast on each demarcated about a third of the way down where begins their lovely scale-like patterning of creamy white that arrange themselves in a tight scalloping of half-moons that seem as though stamped by hand, thinner markings drawing away on their flanks and wings to their sides like quills. Lower down, each has coloring that further warms the charming globes of their bodies--the female showing a toasty patch of golden brown and the male showing a round patch that is a creamier version of the same toast above and an almost sienna ruddiness below. The lovely quails are facing each other, the lovely stippling on their necks gracing the outskirts of their brown (female) and black and white (male) faces and the funny, pretty pull tabs of their forehead crests curving towards each other. The backdrop is a haze of frozen fog and neighborhood, with a few other branches of spikily frosted oak and the side of a third quail who disappears out the side of the photo to give these two their space. I've added a white border/frame to the photo to make it seem more like the postcard I felt it to be.
California quail in winter are the absolute ideal form of orb. The male colorway is a warm combination of stone and hearthfire, and the female colorway is like winter driftwood. They are fantastic birds.

02 December 2024

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