QUAIL (COTURNIX COTURNIX)
At just 17 centimetres long, the quail (Coturnix coturnix)is
our smallest and sweetest gamebird. It is also one of the most rarely seen.
The quail’s streaky buff, tan and chocolate markings provide
excellent cryptic camouflage in the grassland habitats they favour. Their low
stature and secretive habits help keep their cover. Males can be located by
their distinctive “whip
whip whip” call, often described as ‘wet my lips’ which they will shout out
day and night. If you do see one, males are subtly different from females, with
bolder, darker chin markings, whilst juveniles are plain-faced.
Despite being a weak flier, quails are our only migratory gamebird, arriving here to breed in spring and summer (April to September) from the warmer climes of North and Central Africa. In keeping with their secrecy, they fly under cover of darkness to avoid hawks and other birds of prey.
Despite being a weak flier, quails are our only migratory gamebird, arriving here to breed in spring and summer (April to September) from the warmer climes of North and Central Africa. In keeping with their secrecy, they fly under cover of darkness to avoid hawks and other birds of prey.
Unlike the swallow Hirundo
rustica or the cuckoo Cuculus canorus
though, quails are not reliable visitors to Britain. They reach our islands
sporadically, in varying numbers each year. They are never particularly common in Britain,
with the usual number of just 100-300 pairs reaching up to around 2,600 in good
‘Quail years”1. Notable quail
years have included 1970, 1983, 1989 and
20051. Quails are classed as a ‘rare breeding bird’ by the BTO, so
any records are notable2.
However, quail migration does follow an interesting pattern.
The first wave of migrants arrive in April to May, breeding through to June and
July, when the second wave arrives. The reason for this is simple, yet
remarkable. The second wave are the first brood of youngsters from North Africa
(Sired by parents from Central Africa). Meanwhile, young quails hatched in
Britain migrate into Northern Europe2. This feat is possible because of the quail’s
fast growth rate; juveniles have the strength to migrate at 2 months old and can
breed at just 3 months 2,3! This leapfrogging migration pattern is
has more in common with butterflies, such as the painted lady Vanessa cardui than other birds.
You might think with such a high breeding rate, quails would
be very numerous. In fact
Whilst captive quails have grown in popularity for their eggs, meat and as pets, their wild cousins are steadily declining. A number of factors are to blame for this, from habitat loss due to changes in farming practices and losses of semi-natural grassland, to droughts in their African wintering grounds and hunting in the Mediterranean3.
Of these, hunting is the most pressing conservation concern. Quails are strictly protected under the European Union’s Birds Directive, but illegal spring shooting and trapping continues on their migration through the Mediterranean, which selectively removes hundreds of breeding birds4,5. Malta in particular is criticised for this practice, banned by the Government in 2009 but reopened in 2011 with annually increasing quail quotas5. Outside of Europe, such as in the Middle-East, quail shooting is also a popular sport and a tourism venture. Considering the small numbers arriving in Britain each year, this is a clear conservation issue and the fact that all but one of the BTO’s notable quail ringing recoveries were from shot birds is not surprising6.
Surprisingly then, the quail was a historically unpopular gamebird, rarely eaten at British banquets which featured so many other species7. The reason is not their small size but their toxicity. The flesh of some quails is made bitter and poisonous by their habit of eating toxic plants-such as spurge- on migration7,8. Apparently, only birds from East Africa are affected, but since the populations mix in the breeding grounds, it wasn’t considered worth the lottery. Quail poisoning , or “coturnism” was so common it has been mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 11:31-34) when the Israelites ate quail in Sinai, and eating quail was banned by the Romans in the first century. This makes the quail one of only five known poisonous birds8.
Whilst captive quails have grown in popularity for their eggs, meat and as pets, their wild cousins are steadily declining. A number of factors are to blame for this, from habitat loss due to changes in farming practices and losses of semi-natural grassland, to droughts in their African wintering grounds and hunting in the Mediterranean3.
Of these, hunting is the most pressing conservation concern. Quails are strictly protected under the European Union’s Birds Directive, but illegal spring shooting and trapping continues on their migration through the Mediterranean, which selectively removes hundreds of breeding birds4,5. Malta in particular is criticised for this practice, banned by the Government in 2009 but reopened in 2011 with annually increasing quail quotas5. Outside of Europe, such as in the Middle-East, quail shooting is also a popular sport and a tourism venture. Considering the small numbers arriving in Britain each year, this is a clear conservation issue and the fact that all but one of the BTO’s notable quail ringing recoveries were from shot birds is not surprising6.
Surprisingly then, the quail was a historically unpopular gamebird, rarely eaten at British banquets which featured so many other species7. The reason is not their small size but their toxicity. The flesh of some quails is made bitter and poisonous by their habit of eating toxic plants-such as spurge- on migration7,8. Apparently, only birds from East Africa are affected, but since the populations mix in the breeding grounds, it wasn’t considered worth the lottery. Quail poisoning , or “coturnism” was so common it has been mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 11:31-34) when the Israelites ate quail in Sinai, and eating quail was banned by the Romans in the first century. This makes the quail one of only five known poisonous birds8.
References
1-Chris Mead. (2000) Quail (Common Quail). The State of the
Nations Birds. Available from: http://www.birdcare.com/bin/showsonb?quail
2-Dawn Balmer . (2009) Quail
- the Painted Lady of the bird world? Available from: http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=1690
3- Peter Holden and Tim Cleeves. (2010) RSPB Handbook of
British Birds (Third Edition). London, A&C Black.
4- Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS). (2010) Spring Hunting on Malta: Hunters have no sense of 'sustainability'. Available from: http://www.komitee.de/en/actions-and-projects/malta/spring-hunting
5-Charlie Moors. (2012) BirdLife Malta: ““Malta Taking
Commission for a Ride”. Talking Naturally.
Available from: http://www.talking-naturally.co.uk/birdlife-malta-malta-taking-commission-for-a-ride/
6- R.A. Robinson and J.A. Clark. (2013) The Online Ringing
Report: Bird ringing in Britain & Ireland in 2012. Summary of
all Ringing Recoveries for Quail (Coturnix coturnix). Available from: http://blx1.bto.org/ring/countyrec/resultsall/rec3700all.htm
7- Fransesca
Greenoak. (1979) All the Birds of the Air. A. Brown and Sons.
8-Dr Stefan Bartram and Professor Wilhelm Boland. (2001) Chemistry and ecology of toxic birds.
ChemBioChem, 2, 809-811. In: Darren Naish. (2010) Death by toxic goose. Amazing
waterfowl facts part II. Tetrapod Zoology.
Available from: http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/06/19/death-by-toxic-goose/
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