Common Quail
The Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, is a small bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is widespread and is found in parts of Europe, (should not be confused with the domesticated Japanese Quail, Coturnix Japonica, original from Asia that although visually similar have very distinct calls).
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| Common Quail |
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Description
It is a small (17 cm) rotund bird, essentially 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.
Habits
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.
Breeding
Upon attaining an age of 6–8 weeks, this quail breeds on open arable farmland and grassland across most of Europe and Asia, laying 6-12 eggs in a ground nest. The eggs take from 16–18 days to hatch.
Races
This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Tetrao coturnix. The Eurasian race, C. c. coturnix, overwinters southwards in Africa's Sahel and India. The populations on Madeira and the Canary Islands belong to the nominate race. The African race, C. c. africana, described by Temminck and Schlegel, in 1849, is known as the African Quail. It overwinters within Africa, some moving northwards from South Africa. The Common Quails of Madagascar and the Comoros belong to the same African race, although those found around Ethiopia make up a different subspecies, the Abyssinian Quail, C. c. erlangeri (Zedlitz, 1912). The fairly numerous population of the Cape Verde islands, belong to a separate race, C. c. inopinata, (described by Hartert in 1917), while those on the Azores belong to race C. c. conturbans (Hartert, 1917).
Utilization
Exodus 16:1-13 relates how the migrating Israelites relied on migrating quail for food. It is still heavily hunted as game on passage through the Mediterranean area. 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.
