Animals /
Birds Living

Common Quail

Coturnix coturnix

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.

Overview

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.

Habitat & distribution

Habitats

Terrestrial

Video

Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) calling.Credit: Marc Plomp · CC BY-SA 3.0 nlSource ↗

Sounds

Advertising call of a male Common quail, recorded at Winbourne, Devon, EnglandCC BY-SA 4.0

References

  1. GBIF Auto Sync GBIF
  2. WoRMS / Aphia World Register of Marine Species
  3. Wikipedia — Common quail Wikipedia

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