The common quail 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.
Region
Western Palearctic (breeding) and sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (wintering)
Typical Environment
Breeds widely across Europe, North Africa, and western to central Asia in open country, especially farmlands with cereals, grasslands, steppe, fallows, and weedy fields. In winter it occupies savannas, cultivated lands, and scrubby grasslands across sub-Saharan Africa and parts of southern India. Prefers dense herb layer for cover and nests on the ground in concealed grass tussocks. Populations can shift locally with rainfall and crop cycles, making the species somewhat nomadic within seasons.
Altitude Range
0–2500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
The common quail is one of the few true long‑distance migratory gamebirds, crossing the Mediterranean to winter in Africa and southern Asia. Its distinctive three-note call is often rendered as “wet-my-lips” and is frequently heard at dusk and night from fields. Highly cryptic and reluctant to flush, it relies on camouflage and short, swift flights to evade predators. It has benefitted and suffered from agriculture, favoring cereal fields but vulnerable to intensive farming and heavy hunting pressure along flyways.
Eggs
Temperament
secretive and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats; low, fast, and direct
Social Behavior
Generally solitary or in loose pairs during breeding, nesting on the ground with a clutch typically of 7–12 eggs. Males may be polygynous and do not incubate; females provide most parental care. Outside the breeding season, small coveys may form in suitable cover, especially in wintering grounds.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
The male gives a rhythmic, three-syllable whistle commonly transcribed as “wet-my-lips,” repeated persistently at dusk, night, and dawn. Contact calls are softer, with short clucks and chirps from cover.
Plumage
Compact, streaked and mottled brown with buff and rufous tones, providing excellent camouflage in grasses. Flanks show pale bars, and the back is finely streaked. Males often have a darker throat with pale borders; females are paler and more uniformly patterned.
Diet
Feeds primarily on seeds of grasses and cereals, along with various weed seeds. Supplements its diet with invertebrates such as beetles, ants, caterpillars, and other small insects, especially during the breeding season. Chicks are heavily insectivorous at first, shifting gradually to more seeds as they mature.
Preferred Environment
Forages on the ground in fields, meadows, and grassy margins, often within dense cover near crops like wheat and barley. Uses stubbles, fallows, and field edges where seed and insects are abundant.
