Coturnix coturnix

Male adult bird (summer feather) : chestnut yellow on the forehead, dark brown on the head, pillow and hind neck, dark chestnut yellow on the tip of the feather; There is a narrow white crown in the center. White brow line, from forehead to neck; Eye circles, eyes and cheeks are russet brown; Ear feathers chestnut brown. The upper back is light yellow chestnut with yellowish-white plumage; Underback to tail covering dark brown, with two ends of the pointed light yellow plume; Inside and outside: there are yellowish-brown wavy thin transverse spots; The same goes for shoulder feathers. Most of the wings are yellowish olive, mixed with yellowish white stripes; The outer layer of the first primary feathers is narrow, with pale yellow edges, and the outer layer of the other primary feathers has a light russet wavy spot; The inner and outer edges of the secondary feathers also have the same color stripes, turning inward and lightening. Tail feathers black brown, white bill base over the eye

It is distributed in Europe, Africa, northern, central, western and southern Asia, breeding in China from Shacha and Yumin in western Xinjiang to Lop Nur in the east, wintering in southern and southeastern Tibet, and sometimes to Zhongdian in northwestern Yunnan.
Quail often live in grassy plains, wastelands, hillsides, hills, swamps, lakes and streams, and sometimes in shrubland. Sometimes they go near the cultivated land. Belongs to the terrestrial birds, the nature is good hidden, usually like to lurk in the grass or bushes, or sneak in it.

The Western Quail (Coturnix coturnix), Common Quail in English, quail in French, Caille des bles, has 6 subspecies. The original Chinese name was designated as "Common Quail" according to the English translation of "Common quail", and was revised to "West quail" in the Catalogue of Bird Classification and Distribution in China (Third Edition). In 2019, the China Bird Watching Annual Report "Bird List of China" (version 7.0) based on the discussion of IOC Global Bird List 9.1 and 9.2, also named its Chinese standard name as "West quail".

Western quail is a migratory bird that often lives in warm climates. It is a relatively weak migratory bird in the juvenile family. It has short wing feathers and can't fly high and long. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry once put special tags on some wild quails and released them back into the wild. The activity of quail was investigated and the results confirmed the thermotaxis of quail. China's two species of wild quail breed in western Xinjiang and eastern Inner Mongolia in June and July each year before migrating south for the winter. According to the preliminary investigation and research, there may be three routes for the two species of wild quail to migrate south: directly from Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, to the Yellow River coast of Liaoning and Hebei, and to the Ludu area of Xizang Province to overwinter; From Qamdo area around Qinghai-Tibet through Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan area to continue southward to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; From the Qamdo area through Yunnan, Guizhou moved to the southeast coastal areas. From March to April every year, they fly back to Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other places to breed. The moving distance is about 400-1000 km. Of course, there are also local breeding or local migration quail prefer to nest in the local warm, wet water grass.

Western quail usually live in small groups except during the breeding season. In addition to migration, it rarely takes off, flies in a straight line, and often flies in a straight line at low altitude. The call is a loud, clear, dripping three-syllable whistle, often described as wet my lips, which is called in the morning, at dusk, or at night. Whistling when driven away. They move to the breeding grounds from early to mid-April each year and leave the breeding grounds in autumn from mid-September to the end of September. Migrating in groups, mostly at night, during the day hiding in the grass, shrubland rest. In the Compendium of Materia Medica, there is a record of "its field wei, swarm flying at night, and grass Fu at day." They mainly eat weed seeds, beans, grains and berries, young leaves, shoots, etc., and eat a lot of insects and larvae in summer, as well as small invertebrates.

Western quail breed from May to July. Male and female birds do not form a fixed mating relationship, but a multi-male mating system. Males usually occupy and start calling shortly after arriving at the breeding site, and males are very aggressive during the breeding season. Nest in plain grassland, farmland side or barren slope grass, thicket. The nest mainly uses the shallow pit in the concave of the ground, which is filled with dried thin grass stems, grass roots, grass leaves and feathers. Each clutch lays 7-15 eggs, white or olive brown, scattered with brown or rust spots, size 25.6-33×19-25 mm, weight 5.6-7 grams, incubation period 15-17 days.

The population of western quail in Europe is estimated at 3,320,000-6,720,000 males, equivalent to 6,630,000-13,400,000 mature individuals (Birdlife International, 2015). Europe accounts for about 40% of the global range, so preliminary estimates of the global population size are 16,575,000-33,500,000 mature individuals, although further verification is needed. Thus, the species is in the range of 15,000,000 to 35,000,000 mature individuals. The species is in decline due to migratory bird netting. The local decline may be due to changes in agricultural practices, particularly the increase in pesticides. In Europe, species population sizes are estimated to fluctuate (Birdlife International, 2015).

Quail is commonly known as "Luo quail" in China, also known as "early autumn". Because of their mottled colors and ragged clothes, which resemble ragged old clothes and ragged clothes, there are expressions of "ragged clothes" and "ragged clothes" in idioms, "ragged clothes" and "ragged clothes" in Du Fu's poems. Its forehead, head side, chin and throat are brick red, also known as "red-faced quail, red-throated quail" and so on. In addition, its tail is very short, known as "bald tail quail".

Quail is an ancient bird with a wide distribution and many varieties. Its meat and eggs are rich in nutrition, taste delicious, and have a long history with human beings. There are images of quail on Egyptian frescoes as early as 5,000 years ago. There are also records of eating quail on the pyramids. China is one of the major producers of wild quail and one of the earliest countries to raise wild quail. In the Book of Songs, there was "Quail's running", "no hunting, no hunting, Hu Zhaner's feast has hanging quail!" In the Warring States Period, "quail" was listed as one of the six birds and became a feast delicacy. After Tang and Song dynasties, many descriptions of its ecology and living habits have been recorded.

In the Western Han Dynasty, China began to domesticate quail, and the purpose of domestication at that time was mainly for racing and singing. In Tang and Song dynasties, quail racing was very popular in the royal palace and among the people. Folk quail once prevailed in the north and south of the Yellow River. According to the Foreign History of the Tang Dynasty, the quail that had been domesticated in the Xiliang area and paid tribute to the Tang Emperor could fight to the rhythm of the golden drum.  Later, there was "Quail Spectrum" summarizing the experience of raising quail. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, quail fighting had become a way of gambling for dignities.

By the Ming Dynasty, it had gradually discovered its medicinal value. Chen Mianlin, a Gongsheng in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, wrote Quail Spectrum, in which the characteristics and characteristics of 44 excellent varieties of quail were described respectively. The methods of feeding such as cultivation, washing, feeding, fighting, blending, cage, killing and 37 kinds of proper and taboo are recorded in detail. This has certain reference value for the development of quail breeding in China.

Listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN)2018 ver3.1 - Not Threatened (LC).

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