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Common Quail

Coturnix coturnix

Not yet photographed by the community

Tiny secretive game bird; liquid 'wet-my-lips' call.

Species Profile

Red List (breeding); Amber List (wintering/passage)

Lifespan: 2–3 years in the wild
Size & Weight: 16–18 cm, wingspan 32–35 cm; 70–100 g
Habitat: Open grassland, cereal crops, and cultivated farmland with sparse or low vegetation.
UK Distribution: Scarce summer breeder in southern England, with numbers fluctuating annually. Migratory, arriving April–May and departing by September, with occasional winter records.
Diet: Seeds, grain, and small insects and invertebrates, particularly during breeding season.
Predators: Sparrowhawks, kestrels, foxes, and ground predators such as stoats and weasels; eggs preyed upon by corvids and rats.
Mating Season: May to August
Breeding: Clutch size 8–12 eggs, incubation period 16–18 days, typically one brood per season. Chicks are precocial and fledge in 7–10 days.
Behaviour: Highly secretive and cryptic, with a distinctive monotonous three-note call ('wet-my-lips') used by males to establish territory. Largely nocturnal and terrestrial, reluctant to fly unless disturbed. Males are polygynous and do not assist with incubation or chick-rearing.

Did You Know?

•The Common Quail is the smallest game bird in the UK and one of the few migratory gamebirds in Europe.
•Its distinctive territorial call can be heard from considerable distances across open farmland during spring and early summer.
•UK breeding numbers are highly variable year-to-year, dependent on weather conditions in North African wintering grounds and spring migration routes.
•Unlike other gamebirds, quails nest on the ground with minimal nest structure, relying entirely on camouflage for protection.
•The species has declined significantly in the UK as a breeder due to agricultural intensification and the use of pesticides reducing invertebrate food sources.

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