534 
Forest axd Stream 
THE GREATEST LITTLE GAME BIRD 
THE FOUR VARIETIES OF CALIFORNIA QUAIL FURNISH 
SPORT FOR HUNTERS OVER A WIDE CHOICE OF COVERS 
By H. H. SHELDON 
The author believes in the twenty-gauge double gun 
O F the land game birds 
it is safe to say that 
the quail is the most 
consistently hunted of 
all the varieties. His habits 
and proximity to civilization 
together with his speedy flight 
are perhaps the real reasons 
for his popularity with the 
shotgun enthusiast. Having 
hunted all the varieties of our 
quail I should say ( from an 
unprejudiced viewpoint) that 
the California or Valley quail 
is the greatest of our small 
game birds. Much has been 
written about his famous rel- 
ative “Bob - White,” whose 
whistle has called me in the 
East and South where fond 
memories of quail days will 
always be a delight in my 
hunting repertoire, but this lit- 
tle stranger out in the far West 
is worth getting acquainted 
with and a little preliminary 
introduction may be of inter- 
est to any not already enlight- 
ened. 
There are four varieties of 
quail (not including the so- 
called Mountain quail) very 
closely related and distributed 
throughout California, known 
as follows: the California 
quail (Lophortyx californica 
calif arnica) whose range is 
limited to the humid coast 
region from Monterey County 
to Oregon. The Valley quail {Lophor- 
tyx californica vallicola) which is a sub- 
specific form of the first named (and 
which this article will refer to chiefly, 
being the most abundant of the species 
and more widely distributed, viz. : from 
the vicinity of Klamath Lake, Oregon, 
except the northern ’ coast strip and 
southeastern desert region, south 
through California and Lower Califor- 
nia to Cape San Lucas and east to West- 
ern Nevada. These two birds are very 
much alike and unless held in hand could 
not be identified by the most expert. 
There is considerable difference, how- 
ever, when comparative examination is 
made. The first named being darker, 
which is acquired through the greater 
humidity of the region it inhabits to that 
of the Valley quail of the arid regions. 
The habits, however, are identical and 
as far as the sportsman is concerned we 
can call them California or Valley quail, 
whichever happens to “flush” first. 
Then there is still another form which 
I mention simply to make up the afore- 
said quartette which is found on Santa 
Catalina Island, but as this quail is such 
an isolated form and with such a limited 
range (being confined to the island) it 
will not be of interest to give a detailed 
account of the bird. It is similar to the 
former named except that like the 
Northern relative, is darker and has a 
slightly larger foot. It is known as the 
Santa Catalina Island quail {Lophortyx 
californica catalinensis) . 
To conclude, the desert form known 
as the Gambel quail {Lophortyx gam- 
bcli) is a separate species as the name 
implies and stands out decidedly apart 
from the allied forms in coloration (see 
Lig. 3), and being an inhabitant of the 
desert and the adjacent regions, its 
habits are somewhat different. Com- 
parable to the Valley quail, it is not as 
much of a flyer; runs when alarmed and 
hides more readily, and from the stand- 
point of the sportsman is not as “gamey” 
for hunting as the Valley quail. The 
Gambel quail is truly a bird of the arid 
lands. The introduction of this species 
for propagation to the hills of the more 
humid regions proved unsuccessful. 
It likes the great tracts of mesquite and 
quail brush and the environment of the 
desert. Aridity is the essential factor 
in the life of this species. It is not the 
cold of the northern parts of the state 
which effects its living, but the humidity. 
They have not been known to exist away 
from the land of sage and cactus; But 
with all their exclusive habits 
they do associate with the i 
Valley quail in certain dis- 
tricts and hybrids have been 
taken of the two. Unlike the 
beautiful scaled markings of 
the California quail the Gam- 
bel quail has a ground color 
of creamy buff beneath, with 
a splash of black (a striking 
combination) against a gray 
breast, black throat margined 
with white, and otherwise 
somewhat similar in confor- 
mation with the California 
quail. 
TT has been said that quail 
^ are to be found most any- 
where in the region they in- 
habit. In one sense of the 
word that statement follows 
for they travel high, low, far 
and wide. However, it is not 
a matter of “go into the hills 
and walk until you run onto a 
flock.” They are governed by 
the elements, season, food, 
climate, etc. Linding a flock 
of quail is not a matter of 
guess work. Much is to be 
taken into consideration in 
the quest of hunting. It not 
only applies to quail but to all 
wild life. Of course, it is not 
a matter of ponder and study . 
over the country; a good 
hunter looks over the terri- 
tory and with a small amount 
of deduction sees at once where the 
game should be. He may err occasion- 
ally, but if the game is in the vicinity 
he won’t be long finding it. 
There are many young hunters and no 
doubt many old ones who invariably 
come home with empty coats and tired 
legs, because they have overlooked the 
detail in the landscape. Learn more of 
the habits of the game, the form of the 
earth and its growth and the word 
“hunting” will perhaps be eliminated 
from your sporting vocabulary. Quail, 
not unlike any form of wild life, can be j 
termed habitual. They follow certain 
ways of living', deviating hardly a 
noticeable difference from one day to 
another, except w'here the seasons of the 
year effect them in the regular manner. 
In the early days, we’ll say from , 
thirty years backward, quail were so 
abundant in certain areas that it has 
been recorded, flocks of upward of a 
thousand birds have congregated at a 
drinking place ; at such times it is nat- 
ural to believe that their habits during 
such periods as the assembling of the 
flocks after the breeding season would 
be unlike those of today; chiefly because 
they had not been affected by the en- 
vironment of civilization. In those days 
