The Common
Quail - Coturnix coturnix – reaches
breeding maturity between 5 to 8 weeks.
The Common
Quail - Coturnix coturnix - is a widespread terrestrial species
found in Europe, central Asia, China,
and Africa. It is a migratory bird which is 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.
Description
It is a small bird,
essentially streaked brown with a white eye-stripe and in the male, a white
chin.
Call
A distinctive
"wet-my-lips" repetitive song by the male, which is uttered mostly in
the mornings, evenings and sometimes at night.
Food
It mainly forages
in the late afternoon and early evening, scraping the ground with its feet in
search of food, which consists mainly of seeds and insects.
Breeding
They breed on
open farmland and grasslands. The nest is made by the female and is a scrape in
the ground, lined with grass and rootlets and hidden away in dense
vegetation. She lays between 6 to 12 which take from 16 to 18 days to
hatch. Chicks leave nest usually within a day of hatching and are cared for and
fed by the female for the first four days or so, after which they feed
independently. After 11 days they can start to fly, after 19 to 21 days they
have developed full flight, and after 30 days they are full grown.
Conservation Status – Least Concern
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. It is heavily hunted
as game on its passage through the Mediterranean area.
Birdwatching
Ask Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures
to create a custom tour for you to see these secretive birds or book on one of the
following scheduled Aves Birding
Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -
Aves Arid Birding
Tour / Safari /Adventure.
Aves Eastern Cape Birding
Tour / Safari /Adventure.
Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari /
Adventure.
Aves KZN Birding
Tour / Safari / Adventure.
Aves North East
Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.
Aves North West Birding Tour
/ Safari / Adventure.
Aves Western Cape Birding
Tour / Safari / Adventure.
Aves West Coast Birding
Tour/Safari/Adventure.