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.