jOe ain't never seen how "quailbirds" that are raised with no contact with humans, in flight pens, trained to fear hawks, and released in August, fly by the time cold weather comes, either. If he had he would know better than to think they all have to be kicked off the ground.
I shot quail last year in October that were all but indistinguishable from wild birds, and had been released in August. The owner and I bumped into a big covey late in the day that we think may have been true wild birds, or some of last year's releases, or birds that were raised from hatches by a previous year's released birds. But, the coveys we had been in all afternoon flushed so wild that we didn't even get within good gun range of them sometimes before they got up, just from the sound of us walking up towards the pointers in the dry grass and leaves.
I grew up hunting wild birds. I know what it was like. I have also seen what it is like to have to kick up birds. Those are not the only two kinds of quail.
SRH
