Quail are quick-footed and can also fly short distances, making them tricky to capture. Whether you keep quail at home or enjoy wild quail, sooner or later you may need to chase down one of these sneaky birds. The only way to catch a quail is to work slowly to corner the bird and trap it. Then, you can return a lost bird to its home or nest. Method 1 of 5: Trapping Wild Quail 1 Get a quail trap or build your own. To make catching quail easy, purchase a basic trap. Funnel cage traps and net traps are humane. They don’t hurt the birds at all. These traps are also pretty simple to replicate on your own with a few basic supplies. For example, try building a basic box trap by installing a closed hinge door on top of a wooden box, then creating a small hole near the bottom. The birds walk into the hole and try to escape towards the light in the door.. [1] Quail traps are available online and at some hunting or farm supply stores. For an easy net t...