What do Quail Eat?

What do Quail Eat?

Quail are considered omnivores – this means they will eat plant-based food, such as seeds and leafy, green vegetation, as well as animal-based food, such as insects. Seeds are a major part of a quail's diet, but not all seeds are equal in a quail's eyes. Imagine you have to feed yourself without using your hands or teeth--would you rather eat foods that are fluffy like a cotton ball or smooth like a corn kernel? For the same reasons, quail prefer hard, slick seeds (like the ragweed seeds in the left picture) over fuzzy ones (like the little bluestem in the right picture). A quail's diet varies across the year as different food sources increase or decrease in availability. For example, quail will eat lots of insects and seeds in the spring and early summer since they are very plentiful, but they will switch and eat more green vegetation in the late summer, fall and winter as seeds and insects become more scarce. Some cultivated crops are good sources of seeds, especially milo, wheat, and millets. Creating food plots with some of these species can provide a life-saving source of food for bobwhite when conditions get tough. Want to learn how to make one on your property? Check out the video below.

Arthropods

Grasses

Forbs

Woody plants

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What do Bobwhite Quail Eat?

Grasses

Insects

Forbs

Woody plants

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Want more quail? Check out these resources!

Quail Decline Facebook Page

Wild Wonderings Blog

NRI TouTube Channel

NRI Twitter

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Funding for this lesson was provided through the Reversing the Quail Decline Initiative and the Upland Game Bird Stamp Fund, based on a collaborative effort between Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.