The California Quail, the official state bird, was for a time rather rare in Bidwell Park, primarily due to a large population of feral cats. After the removal of nearly 1,000 cats by the Chico Cat Coalition, the birds are once again common throughout the park in open forest, forest edges, and grassland. The California Quail is a short, rounded bird with a short black beak and stands about nine inches tall; the male has a black throat, gray chest, and a top knot drooping forward. The female is much lighter in color, lacks the black throat and has a smaller topknot. You will frequently see them running across the road, rarely flying and then only for short distances. Their distinctive call sounds to some like Chi-ca-go, Chi-ca-go, and the male and female often alternate singing, one following the other, a phrase at a time.