Common Quail Coturnix coturnix Scientific name definitions

16–20 cm (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); male 70–140 g, female 70–155 g (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); wingspan 32–35 cm. Usually indistinguishable in the field from Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica), except on call ; in the hand, differs by having wing over 10.5 cm long, and usually by being less rufous below; from other Coturnix separated by having outer webs of primaries barred with buff. Female distinguished from Japanese Quail by pattern of underparts feathers; lack of black throat, less marked facial bridle, paler face and underparts, and less chestnut on flanks distinguishes female of present species from its male. Juvenile resembles female, but has barred flanks and no lines on lower cheeks. Subspecies vary slightly in size and color; Palearctic birds larger, paler and grayer, while African birds generally smaller, darker, and more rufous . Birds on Madeira (sometimes searated as subspecies confisa) darker than birds on the mainland, being closer to africana but has paler upperparts than latter; subspecies africana is very close to nominate, but darker above, yet paler than erlangeri; and subspecies erlangeri is darker and more rufous than all of the other subspecies, with many males having a rufous face, throat and underparts (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Closely related to Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica), and possibly also to Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis). Records from northwestern Bangladesh normally ascribed to present species (nominate coturnix), but perhaps more likely to refer to Coturnix japonica. Internal taxonomy complex and somewhat confused. Present species has been considered to include Coturnix japonica as a subspecies, but the two are apparently sympatric in Mongolia (see Coturnix japonica). African populations may constitute a separate species, as Coturnix africana. Birds of eastern and central Africa often considered to merit subspecific distinction from those in southern Africa, and thus awarded subspecies erlangeri; this name formerly applied to Ethiopian population only; birds of southern Africa frequently transferred to nominate coturnix, as deemed to be inseparable; under such an arrangement, erlangeri applied to birds of eastern and central Africa, and sometimes raised to full species level. Subspecies inopinata sometimes synonymized with nominate. Proposed subspecies ragonierii (Tuscany, in northwestern Italy) and parisii (probably Sardinia) included in nominate (2 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen Jr., Editors (2013). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ). Has even been suggested that this species is monotypic (e.g., 3 Puigcerver, M., Rodriguez-Teijeiro, J.D. and Gallego, S. (2001). The problem of the subspecies in Coturnix coturnix quail. Proceedings of the Perdix VII International Symposium on Partridges, Quails and Pheasants, Dourdan, France, 9–13 Oct. 1995. Game Wildl. Sci. 18(3&4): 561–572. Close , 4 Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2022). The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close ). Full review required. Five subspecies presently recognized.

Introduced (africana) to Reunion and to Mauritius, where possibly extinct (5 Safford, R.J. and Basque, R. (2007). Records of migrants and amendments to the status of exotics on Mauritius in 1989–93. Bull. Afr. Bird Club 14(1): 26–35. Close ).

Widespread in Palearctic region, as well as eastern and southern Africa

Open habitats, including cultivation, in level or gently rolling land, generally avoiding well-wooded areas or wetlands, although appears to require water sources in very hot areas (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); up to 1,000 m and much higher in places (e.g., recorded to 3,600 m in Ladakh) (13 Pfister, O. (2001). Birds recorded during visits to Ladakh, India from 1994 to 1997. Forktail. 17: 81–90. Close ), with definite records of breeding above 3,000 m in Bhutan (14 Spierenburg, P. (2005). Birds in Bhutan: Status and Distribution. Oriental Bird Club, Bedford, UK. Close ), and 2,300 m in Turkey (15 Kirwan, G. M., K. A. Boyla, P. Castell, B. Demirci, M. Özen, H. Welch, and T. Marlow (2008). The Birds of Turkey: The Distribution, Taxonomy and Breeding of Turkish Birds. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In Africa, recorded to 3,000 m in highlands of Kenya, 2,400 m on Reunion, 2,300 m on Comoros (where found in open tree-heath), 2,000 m on Madagascar (16 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), and in central Asia to 2,990 m in Tajikistan (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Prefers dense herbage less than 1 m tall. In northeastern Tanzania, where breeds alongside Harlequin Quail (Coturnix delegorguei), occurs in longer, less degraded grassland. Avoids bare soils, but on migration occurs in almost any weedy cover, including on coasts.

Complex. Majority of western Palearctic breeders believed to winter south of Sahara, mainly in Sahel zone, though there are records as far south as Cameroon (17 Dowsett, R. J., and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2000). New species and amendments to the avifauna of Cameroon. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 120(3):179–185. Close , 18 Scholte, P. and R. J. Dowsett (2000). Birds of Waza new to Cameroon: corrigenda and addenda. Malimbus 22(1):29–31. Close ), but some winter as far north as British Isles, Netherlands (19 Keizer, R. and Offereins, R. (1997). Winterwaarnemingen van Kwartels in Nederland. Dutch Birding. 19(1): 11–12. Close ), and Germany, and with some regularity around Mediterranean ; birds of these populations do not seem to cross over equatorial forest, with wintering grounds mainly between Senegal and Sudan; migration routes believed to vary individually, and annually. Resident on Cape Verdes and some other Macaronesian islands (20 Clarke, T. (2006). Birds of the Atlantic Islands. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Climate change—marked by warming temperatures in Africa—has been suggested to be the reason behind earlier arrivals on southern European breeding grounds in spring (21 Rodríguez-Teijeiro, J.D., Gordo, O., Puigcerver, M., Gallego, S., Vinyoles, D. and Ferrer, X. (2005). African climate warming advances spring arrival of the Common Quail Coturnix coturnix. Ardeola. 52(1): 159–162. Close ). Birds that winter in central and southern India believed to migrate through northwestern Pakistan, before dispersing throughout Indian subcontinent. A proportion of southern African birds may move north in March–April to winter as far north as Angola, southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kasai), northern Namibia, and western Zambia, where species is probably solely a non-breeding visitor, although the extent and degree of these movements might be irregular and determined by climatic factors, as in some of these areas there are extremely few records, while confusion with Harlequin Quail (Coturnix delegorguei) might also require consideration (22 Irwin, M.P.S. (2010). The South African population of the Common Quail: some unanswered questions. Honeyguide. 56(2): 104–106. Close ). Vagrant to several oceanic islands, among them Socotra (23 Kirwan, G. M., R. P. Martins, K. M. Morton, and D. A. Showler (1996). The status of birds in Socotra and 'Abd Al-Kuri and the records of the OSME survey in spring 1993. Sandgrouse 17:83–101. Close ), Seychelles (16 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Iceland, and Faeroes (has bred on latter), with other records of presumably lost migrants from western and southern Myanmar (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Opportunistic, eating mainly seeds of grasses, weeds and grain, with well over 100 plant species recorded, but also buds, bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, flowers and leaves. Also takes invertebrates from ground, e.g., beetles, bugs, ants, earwigs, grasshoppers, spiders, worms, and molluscs.

Male song somewhat ventriloquial and comprises a rhythmic phrase of three liquid-sounding staccato notes rendered “quid di-dik” (‘wet my lips’) and which is typically repeated some 4–8 times in succession every 2–5 s. Song bouts are often preceeded by two growling notes “grwa grwa” and occasionally a longer series of double growls is given. Female often responds with a low “gru gru.” When flushed, may utter a low rolling “crweee.” Vocal differences between Eurasian and African breeders apparently minimal, if any (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Season varies in some areas with climatic conditions. Laying from mid May to August in northern Europe, late March to mid June in southern Europe, but clutches recorded as late as mid September in Morocco (24 Ichen, A., Benhoussa, A., Maghnouj, M. and Rguibi Idrissi, H. (2011). Pontes tardives de la Caille des blés Coturnix c. coturnix au périmètre de Tadla (Maroc) en 211106111106. Alauda. 79(4): 317–318. Close ), and on Azores, eggs found all months from March–September (except August), while breeding recorded September–December on Cape Verdes (20 Clarke, T. (2006). Birds of the Atlantic Islands. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); any month in eastern Africa, but January–February in Kenya; September–March in southern Africa; season on southwestern Indian Ocean islands poorly known, but apparently austral spring (16 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); March–April in India (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). All of monogamy, bigamy, polygamy and promiscuity reported. Male defends well-defined territory, although aggregations occur (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); adjacent nests sometimes < 100 m apart (25 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ). Usually single-brooded, but occasionally double-brooded (26 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ), with more southerly and thus earlier-nesting birds subsequently moving north to breed again during same season (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); exceptionally 3–4 broods claimed on some northeast Atlantic islands (20 Clarke, T. (2006). Birds of the Atlantic Islands. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Nest is scrape (11–12.5 cm wide and 1.5 cm deep) (25 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) with grass and nearby plant material added, constructed by female; sited in herbaceous and grassy cover. Normally lays 8–13 eggs (4–18) in Europe and 5–7 eggs (2–15) in Africa, laid at one-day intervals (25 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ), with larger clutches perhaps product of two females (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), color whitish or creamy yellow to yellow, often heavily marked chocolate-brown, reddish brown or pale brown (very similar to those of Harlequin Quail, but slightly less glossy) (25 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ), mean size 30.4 mm × 23 mm (26 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ) or 29 mm × 22 mm (25 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ); incubation 17–20 d, by female alone, commencing with final egg (26 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ); downy chicks have long blackish stripes on rufous-brown upperparts, buffy underparts; chicks can flutter from ground at 5–11 d; fledging ca. 16–19 d (27 Al-Safadi, M. M. (2006). Observations on the breeding birds of the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Sandgrouse 28(1):22–33. Close ). Young independent after 50–70 d, banding together in autumn, forming larger groups termed ‘bevies,’ prior to migration (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Brood parasitism by this species on Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) has been recorded (28 Talabante, C., Gómez, J., Aparicio, A. and Arroyo, B. (2013). Mixed clutches in Montagu’s harrier Circus pygargus nests: a maladaptive brood parasitism by galliform birds. Bird Study. 60(3): 414–416 Close ), as well as on Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) (29 Casas, F., Mougeot, F. and Viñuela, J. (2010). Occurrence of Common Quail Coturnix coturnix eggs in Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa nests. Bird Study. 57(4): 560–562. Close ). Spanish studies have indicated that rainfall is a key factor in the biological cycle of the species, with rainfall having an indirect effect on its productivity and mortality, and influences its nomadic and migratory movements (30 Puigcerver M, Rodriguez-Teijeiro JD, Gallego S 1999 The effects of rainfall on wild populations of Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix). J. Ornithol. 140:335-340 Close , 31 De Juana, E. and García, A.M. (2005). Fluctuaciones relacionadas con la precipitación en la riqueza y abundancia de aves de medios esteparios mediterráneos. Ardeola. 52(1): 53–66. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Few data available from which to assess status; problem confounded by occasional and irregular movements in some areas which help to mask long-term trends. Local fluctuations in numbers reported in most areas, with underlying decline in progress in several countries, including parts of France, Netherlands, Germany (where population most recently estimated at 26,000–49,000 pairs and numbers increased in 1990–2009) (32 Gedeon, K., C. Grüneberg, A. Mitschke, C. Sudfeldt, W. Eikhorst, S. Fischer, M. Flade, S. Frick, I. Geiersberger, B. Koop, M. Kramer, T. Krüger, N. Roth, T. Ryslavy, S. Stübing, S. R. Sudmann, R. Steffens, F. Vökler, and K. Witt (2014). Atlas Deutscher Brutvogelarten – Atlas of German Breeding Birds. Stiftung Vogelmonitoring Deutschland and Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten, Münster, Germany. Close ), Italy, Romania, Ukraine, Russia (where up to 2,500,000 birds were shot annually in 1960s and 1970s) (33 Mezhnev, A.P. (1994). Common Quail in European Russia. Journal of Ornithology. 135(1): 222. Close ), Cyprus, and Malta, and on most other islands too. Overall population, however, remained stable during 2005–2009 in Iberia, southern France, and northern Morocco (34 Rodríguez-Teijeiro, J.D., Sardà-Palomera, F., Alves, I., Bay, Y., Beça, A., Blanchy, B., Borgogne, B., Bourgeon, B., Colaço, P., Gleize, J., Guerreiro, A., Maghnouj, M., Rieutort, C., Roux, D. and Puigcerver, M. (2010). Monitoring and management of common quail Coturnix coturnix populations in their Atlantic distribution area. Ardeola. 57(Especial): 135–144. Close ). British population usually estimated at ca. 600–800 calling males, although there were more than 1,600 in 1989 and 2000 in 2011, while the main center of distribution there appears to be shifting to northern England and southern Scotland, and away from southwestern England and Wales (35 Holling, M., and The Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2011). Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104(9):476–537. Close , 36 Holling, M., and The Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2014). Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2012. British Birds 107(9):504–560. Close , 37 Holling, M., and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2015). Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2013. British Birds 108(7):373–422. Close ). Nominate coturnix considered abundant to very abundant according to season in some parts of Africa; subspecies <em>africana</em> locally abundant, with an estimated 12,600,000 individuals. Apparently uncommon (but perhaps under-recorded) in Madagascar (16 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Introduced population on Mauritius was only maintained by constant restocking and probably now extinct, whereas apparently introduced population on Reunion is doing well (16 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Hunting of migratory birds is a major problem, especially in parts of Africa; around turn of century, several million birds of nominate coturnix were trapped in Sinai and other parts of Egypt, when on migration, and hunting still intense, while trapping is also extremely prevalent in the Gaza Strip in autumn (27 Al-Safadi, M. M. (2006). Observations on the breeding birds of the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Sandgrouse 28(1):22–33. Close ). Surveys of the net lines on the North Sinai coast during 2008–2012 suggest that 2 million quail were captured annually during the 45 days of peak autumn migration, rising to 3–4 million quail in 2012 after the use of MP3 players to attract the birds became widespread; if capture rates were similar along the rest of the Egyptian coast, which is similarly covered by nets, some 13 million quail were captured in Egypt in autumn 2012 (38 Eason, P., Rabia, B. and Attum, O. (2016). Hunting of migratory birds in North Sinai, Egypt. Bird Conservation International. 26(1): 39–51. Close ). Agricultural intensification is possibly also a threat in some areas, especially with increasing use of pesticides. Expansion of irrigation cultivation, however, has made possible the establishment of new breeding populations, as in Kuwait (39 Anon. (2012). Recent reports. Phoenix. 27: 9–11. Close ), Saudi Arabia (40 Jennings, M. C. (2004). Breeding birds in central Arabia, 1978–2003. Sandgrouse 26(1):35–47. Close , 41 Jennings, M. C. (2010). Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia. Fauna of Arabia 25. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Wildlife Commission and Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Frankfurt, Germany. Close ), Qatar (39 Anon. (2012). Recent reports. Phoenix. 27: 9–11. Close ), the United Arab Emirates (42 Khan, S.B., Javed, S. and Shah, J.N. (2009). Distribution and status of Galliformes in the United Arab Emirates. Int. Journal Galliform Conserv. 1: 58–62. Close ), and the Libyan Sahara (43 Hering, J., Fuchs, E. and Brehme, S. (2013). The Common Quail Coturnix coturnix as breeding bird on agricultural areas in the Libyan Sahara. Alauda. 81(3): 229–231. Close ). Range has also expanded north in Russia, despite decrease in numbers, reaching White Sea coast in late 1980s (33 Mezhnev, A.P. (1994). Common Quail in European Russia. Journal of Ornithology. 135(1): 222. Close ). In India, species considered very abundant locally, but numbers vary considerably from year to year; migrants trapped in Pakistan, where species still considered common, but less so than formerly; widely hunted in northwestern India. In Europe, Japanese Quail has been used as a surrogate gamebird, in face of declining populations of present species in countries such as France, Italy, and Spain, where large numbers of the former have been introduced and have interbred with latter, leading to suggestions that genetic mixing might lead to a decline in the impulse to migrate in Common Quail and perhaps further decreases in the population, although one study in northeastern Spain suggests that such restocking poses no serious conservation problems at present (44 Puigcerver, M., Vinyoles, D. and Rodríguez-Teijeiro, J.D. (2007). Does restocking with Japanese quail or hybrids affect native populations of common quail Coturnix coturnix? Biological Conservation. 136: 628–635 Close ). Furthermore, although hybrid farmed females and wild female Common Quail have similar probabilities of mating, nesting success, clutch size, fertility, hatching probability, and chicks’ survival probability, the former group exhibited higher mortality and their nests had a higher rate of predation (45 Puigcerver, M., Sanchez-Donoso, I., Vilà, C., Sardà-Palomera, F., García-Galea, E. and Rodríguez-Teijeiro, J.D. (2014). Decreased fitness of restocked hybrid quails prevents fast admixturewith wild European quails. Biological Conservation. 171: 74–81. Close ).