In general, common quail consume vegetative matter; however, their protein intake is greater than that of Chinese painted quail, Coturnix chinensis. Females require a high protein diet for breeding (Johnsgard, 1988). Weed seeds, cereal gleanings, and small insects and their larvae, including beetles, true bugs, ants, earwigs, and orthopterans are consumed (Johnsgard, 1988; Alderton, 1992).
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: omnivore
We do not have information on predation for this species at this time.
Common quail are approximately 17.5 cm in length (Alderton, 1992) and weigh 70 to 155 g. The wing length of males is 110 to 115 mm and 107 to 116 mm for females. The tail measures 31 to 38 mm for males and 36 to 44 mm for females (Johnsgard, 1988).
Range mass: 70 to 155 g.
Average length: 17.5 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Average basal metabolic rate: 0.891 W.
We do not have information on the lifespan/longevity for this species at this time.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 11 years.
Common quail are terrestrial, temperate and tropical birds. Grasslands are the general habitat of common quail. Dense, tall vegetation is preferred, while forest edges and hedgerows are avoided. Cultivated fields of winter wheat, clover, and small grain crops are also used as nesting cover (Johnsgard, 1988).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
These migratory quail (Hoffmann, 1988; Alderton, 1992) have a breeding range in Europe, Turkey, and central Asia to China. They winter in India, China, southeast Asia, the extreme northwestern coast of Africa, and other parts of Africa, including a subsaharan band in central Africa, the Nile River valley from Egypt to Kenya, and Angola. There are African races in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi south to Namibia, South Africa, and Mozambique as well as in parts of Madagascar (Alderton, 1992).
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Native )
Common quail have an impact on the plants and insects they eat.
Common quail and their eggs provide food for humans. They are also common, well-liked birds of aviaries.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food
Humans are not adversely affected by common quail.
Common quail are not listed by either the IUCN or CITES. However, local population declines have been reported as a result of habitat changes and hunting (Johnsgard, 1988).
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
When on breeding territories male common quail utter loud, gutteral "growl calls" in advance of the territorial call. Females respond to the male's call with an "attraction call" which is a "whic! whic-ic" or " whit-whit'tit." The local male in that territory then engages in the "circle-display" to the female by ruffling his throat and breast feathers, his wing nearest the female droops to the ground, and he dances about in a circle around the female while uttering soft notes. Females give an "invitation call" just prior to copulation (Johnsgard, 1988).
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Coturnix have been depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphs dating back to circa 5000 B.C. (Hoffmann, 1988). These quail have been bred in captivity in large numbers since the 1920's (Hopkinson, 1926).
Coloration is very similar to Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica. The ranges of these two quail overlap, and they interbreed; therefore, the taxonomic status of C. coturnix and C. japonica has not been settled (Johnsgard, 1988; Alderton, 1992).
DNA hybridization data indicate that Coturnix is closely related to Francolinus and Alectoris (Johnsgard, 1988).
Common quail pair-bonds can be very strong (Johnsgard, 1988). Males arrive in breeding areas prior to the females. They utter loud, gutteral "growl calls" in advance of the territorial call. Once the females arrive, they locate a nest site, then respond to the male's call with an "attraction call" which is a "whic! whic-ic" or " whit-whit'tit." The local male in that territory then engages in a "circle-display" for the female by ruffling his throat and breast feathers, his wing nearest the female droops to the ground, and he dances about in a circle around the female while uttering soft notes. Males will also engage in tidbitting. The female responds with an "invitation call" just prior to copulation (Johnsgard, 1988).
Mating System: monogamous
Common quail construct their nests in grass. In Europe the breeding season is from mid-May to late August; in Africa, breeding occurs from September to March, although in Kenya they breed during the wet season, from January to February. Common quail may have up to three clutches per season (Johnsgard, 1988).
Eggs are pure white and approximately 2.5 cm or slightly larger in length (Hoffmann, 1988). They weigh approximately 8.5 g (Johnsgard, 1988). As with many quail, Coturnix are prolific layers (Hoffmann, 1988). Common quail in Europe lay between 8 and 13 eggs per clutch. In Africa, a clutch consists of 6 to 12 eggs; however, the larger number may reflect laying by two females (Johnsgard, 1988). Incubation time is 17 to 20 days (Johnsgard, 1988; Alderton, 1992).
The young quail are able to fly when they are eleven days old (Johnsgard, 1988; Alderton, 1992).
Breeding interval: Common quail breed once yearly and can have up to three clutches per season.
Breeding season: In Europe, May to August. In Africa, September to March (January to February in some parts).
Range eggs per season: 6 to 13.
Range time to hatching: 17 to 20 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
Common quail chicks are precocial.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; precocial ; pre-fertilization
Regular passage visitor, winter visitor and resident breeder.
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India.
With its characteristic call of three repeated chirps (repeated three times in quick succession), this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as "least concern". It should not be confused with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), native to Asia, which, although visually similar, has a call that is very distinct from that of the common quail. Like the Japanese quail, common quails are sometimes kept as poultry.
The common quail was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tetrao coturnix.[2] The specific epithet coturnix is the Latin word for the common quail.[3] This species is now placed in the genus Coturnix that was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalist François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault.[4][5][6] The common quail was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).[7] The ranges of the two species meet in Mongolia and near Lake Baikal without apparent interbreeding and in captivity the offspring of crosses show reduced fertility.[8][9] The Japanese quail is therefore now treated as a separate species.[6]
Five subspecies are recognised:[6]
The common quail is a small compact gallinaceous bird 16–18 cm (6+1⁄2–7 in) in length with a wingspan of 32–35 cm (12+1⁄2–14 in).[10] The weight is 70 to 140 g (2+1⁄2 to 5 oz). It is greatest before migration at the end of the breeding season. The female is generally slightly heavier than the male.[9] It is streaked brown with a white eyestripe, and, in the male, a white chin. As befits its migratory nature, it has long wings, unlike the typically short-winged gamebirds. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, "small migratory game bird of the Old World, late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname, Quayle), from Old French quaille (Modern French caille), perhaps via Medieval Latin quaccula (source also of Provençal calha, Italian quaglia, Portuguese calha, Old Spanish coalla), or directly from a Germanic source (compare Dutch kwakkel, Old High German quahtala, German Wachtel, Old English wihtel), imitative of the bird's cry. Or the English word might have come up indigenously from Proto-Germanic."[11]
This is a terrestrial species, feeding on seeds and insects on the ground. It is notoriously difficult to see, keeping hidden in crops, and reluctant to fly, preferring to creep away instead. Even when flushed, it keeps low and soon drops back into cover. Often the only indication of its presence is the distinctive "wet-my-lips" repetitive song of the male. The call is uttered mostly in the mornings, evenings and sometimes at night. It is a strongly migratory bird, unlike most game birds.
The common quail has been introduced onto the island of Mauritius on several occasions but has failed to establish itself and is now probably extinct.[12]
Males generally arrive in the breeding area before the females. In northern Europe laying begins from the middle of May, and with repeat laying can continue to the end of August. The female forms a shallow scrape in the ground 7–13.5 cm (2+3⁄4–5+1⁄4 in) in diameter which is sparsely lined with vegetation. The eggs are laid at 24-hour intervals to form a clutch of between 8 and 13 eggs. These have an off-white to creamy yellow background with dark brown spots or blotches. Their average dimensions are 30 mm × 23 mm (1+1⁄8 in × 7⁄8 in) with a weight of 8 g (1⁄4 oz). The eggs are incubated by the female alone beginning after all the eggs are laid. The eggs hatch synchronously after 17–20 days. The young are precocial and shortly after hatching leave the nest and can feed themselves. They are cared for by the female who broods them while they are small. The young fledge when around 19 days of age but stay in the family group for 30–50 days. They generally first breed when one year old and only have a single brood.[13]
The common quail is heavily hunted as game on passage through the Mediterranean area. Very large numbers are caught in nets along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is estimated that in 2012, during the autumn migration, 3.4 million birds were caught in northern Sinai and perhaps as many as 12.9 million in the whole of Egypt.[14]
This species over recent years has seen an increase in its propagation in the United States and Europe. However, most of this increase is with hobbyists. It is declining in parts of its range such as Ireland.
In 1537, Queen Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, then pregnant with the future King Edward VI, developed an insatiable craving for quail, and courtiers and diplomats abroad were ordered to find sufficient supplies for the Queen.
If common quails have eaten certain plants, although which plant is still in debate, the meat from quail can be poisonous, with one in four who consume poisonous flesh becoming ill with coturnism, which is characterized by muscle soreness, and which may lead to kidney failure.[15][16][17]
In the Bible, the Book of Numbers chapter 11 describes a story of a huge mass of quails that were blown by a wind and were taken as meat by the Israelites in the wilderness.[18]
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India.
With its characteristic call of three repeated chirps (repeated three times in quick succession), this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as "least concern". It should not be confused with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), native to Asia, which, although visually similar, has a call that is very distinct from that of the common quail. Like the Japanese quail, common quails are sometimes kept as poultry.