California Valley Quail

The California Valley Quail is the California State Bird. Found commonly in the Central Valley of California, they live in small coveys easily found in shrubby areas and open woodlands. When flushed they explode into the air at a fast flight. There is nothing more exciting for a trained dog than to watch these birds emerge from their hiding place, go into a full flush and then at the sound of the gun, to find the prize.

Valley Quail are beautiful birds with a curving plume which droops forward over their forehead. The plumes look like a single feather; however there are actually 6 overlapping plumes together to form one droop. Male plumes are black as females are brown. The males have a dark brown head, black faces with white stripes running around the head, grey chest, brown back and light brown belly. The females are grey with a lighter colored belly. Both male and female have brown and white stripes on the wings. These birds are similar to the Gambel's Quail which are of a blue/grey in color and have a more scaly appearance. The average side of a valley quail is 9-11 inches tall with a wingspan of 13-15 inches. The average weight is 5-8 ounces.

The call of the Valley Quail is very recognizable as a "cu-ca-cow, cu-ca-cow".

We feed these birds high quality flight conditioner but they love to forage on the ground. They scratch for seeds and insects. We supplement them with greens and seeds. You will also find them rolling in the soft dirt and sand as they love to bathe in the sun.