valley quail or gambel?

[thornydevil]

I got these 2 female quails from a friend, but don't know if they are valley or gambel. Need to find out so I can get them a male.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I am going to say they are Valley Quail? Gambel females usually have less striping on the wings and the stripes are more dull, but I could be wrong here. You might listen to calls on the Merlin App to bird ID or maybe even youtube might have their calls. But in my humble opinion, I think you have Valley Quail.

 

[thornydevil]

I had them for a week and haven't heard a call from them. They are very hand tamed and calm.

 

[TwoCrows]

If they are pretty calm, then I am even more positive they are Valleys. Gambels can be very strung out and panicked. Gambels are not calm birds at all! LOL

 

[TwoCrows]

These birds should be kept in pairs or hens only. So you can keep them as is or if you get a male, you will need to get two males. They are best kept one male, one female to a pen. They can be very territorial during breeding season and 2 pair together can sometimes cause trouble.

 

[thornydevil]

Thank you so much for the info. I'll split the aviary and put them in pairs.

 

[TwoCrows]

Good luck with your birds, they sure are pretty!!

 

[Tony K T]

Don't valley quail have a black face?Sorry I was looking at a male.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Ntsees]

Just my opinion: it has the characteristics of both valley and gambel's quail. The body is like that of a valley hen but the plume is like that of a gambel's hen. Gambel's hen plumes are long like your birds; valley hen's plumes are only about half that length. In regards to the body, the darker brown coloring on the sides (the side feathers covering the wings) is like that of a valley hen (or maybe it's the lighting that makes it look dull); gambel's quail (both males and females) have a rusty red coloring on the side feathers. If you can, show us the chest feathers of your hens? If it has scale-like patterns on the chest, it's a valley; if the chest is more or less solid colored (yellow/tan), then it's a gambel's hen.

 

[Brownie101]

The easiest way to tell is by looking at the breast and sides. Gamble's quail have a dark splotch on their lower breast and California Quail have much more heavily scaled sides.