California is home to 10 of North America’s 27 huntable upland bird species—making it one of the most diverse upland bird habitats in the country.

A brown bird perched on a branch amidst leafless twigs and small budding buds in a natural setting.

Doves

California's dove season opens September 1st — the unofficial start of the upland year. Mourning doves and white-winged doves will test your wing-shooting skills.

A close-up image of a male California quail perched on a tree trunk, with a distinctive black topknot crest, black face, streaked brown and white markings, and gray body feathers.

Quail

California has three quail species worth chasing — California quail in the foothill chaparral, Gambel's quail in the desert southeast, and mountain quail in the steep timber country.

A colorful pheasant bird walking on the ground beneath green leafy trees.

Pheasant

Ring-necked pheasants aren't native to California, but they've made the Sacramento Valley floor their own — and a rooster flushing from tule marsh is tough to forget.

A bird with a long neck and speckled brown feathers standing in tall green grass among small purple and white flowers.

Sooty & Ruffed Grouse

Sooty and ruffed grouse are California's most overlooked upland birds — forest species that require elevation, dense timber, and a willingness to hunt country most bird hunters never see.

Six quails standing on a wooden perch inside an enclosure with mesh wire in the background.

Chukar

Chukar live where most hunters won't go — steep, rocky, and relentlessly vertical country in the eastern Sierra and Great Basin ranges. They'll humble you, but they're worth it.

A close-up of a wood pigeon perched on a tree branch, with a blurred natural background.

Band Tailed Pigeon

Band-tailed pigeons are a coastal and mountain species that few California hunters pursue — and that's exactly why the ones who do have the oak ridges largely to themselves.

A white and brown speckled bird standing among grass and small plants in a natural outdoor setting.

Ptarmigan

White-tailed ptarmigan occupy some of the most remote alpine terrain in the Sierra Nevada — a bird so rarely pursued in California that finding one is an achievement before the shotgun ever comes up.

A brown marsh bird, possibly a shorebird, standing amidst tall green grasses and reeds in a wetland environment.

Snipe

Wilson's snipe are real, they're huntable, and don't let the name fool you — their cork-screw flush will expose a wing-shooter faster than almost anything else in the field.