Sleeping Habits of the California Quail

The California quail, also known as the valley quail, is the state bird of California. This species of quail is medium-sized and has a distinctive, curled black head plume. This plume is comma-shaped and resembles a headpiece from the flapper era. The California quail inhabits brushy foothills, oak canyons and deserts. They do well living near humans and seem to flourish among civilization. They are often seen living in suburbs, near homes and factories.

  1. Social Birds

    • California quail are highly social.

      All species of quail are highly social, and the California quail is no exception. They live in group settings called flocks or coveys. These coveys range from a few birds to more than 200, with the average covey having 20 to 25 quails. This is a species that heavily relies on one another to survive. They group both at night and during the day to sleep together as a covey for extra protection from predators.

    Sounds

    • A male California quail on watch

      The sociability of these quails means they vocalize often. They do not sing, but rather they have a variety of calls to communicate. California quails use specific calls for alarm, assembly, departure, aggression, sleeping and mating. The main call that is often heard by those living near the California quail is a sharp cry, sounding like "cu-ca-cow." The covey departure is initiated by this assembly call, which is very loud and is often repeated 10 or more times. During resting or at night, the quails use their sounds to alert one another to potential dangers.

    Food and Foraging

    • The California quail forages for food twice a day.

      The diet of the California quail includes seeds, flowers, leaves, berries and insects. They are ground feeders and forage for their food. During the foraging, the covey stays together through contact calls. One male quail acts as the "watch dog" and sends out alarm calls if he observes danger. They forage two times a day; resting in their roosts for the remainder of the time.

    Sleeping Habits

    • The California quail sleeps at night in roost sites, where they also rest during the day. They are early risers and depart from their roosting sites between the morning's first light and sunrise to forage for their food. Being a social species, they believe in group protection. Therefore, they sleep in a circular formation at night with all their heads pointing away from the circle, constantly on watch.