It has a dark crest on its head, its throat is pale and its under tail-coverts are barred in black and white.

[3] The banded quail is endemic to western central Mexico where its main habitat is dry scrubby countryside with shrubs but it also sometimes moves onto cultivated land and pasture.

[4] It feeds on a variety of seeds and on tubers, buds and insects, increasing the proportion of animal food when there are chicks to be fed.

About five eggs are laid in a grass-lined nest that may be partially roofed and the incubation period is about twenty two days.

[4] The banded quail is found over a range of about 90,800 square kilometres (35,100 sq mi) and the total number of individual birds is estimated to be somewhere between 50,000 and 500,000.