Japanese Quail

Japanese Quail

Coturnix, Pharoah's quail, Stubble quail, Eastern quail, Asiatic quail, Red-throat quail, Japanese gray quail, Japanese migratory quail, King quail, Japanese king quail , Coturnix quail

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Coturnix japonica
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
2-6 years
Top speed
24
15
km/hmph
km/h mph 
Weight
90-100
3.2-3.5
goz
g oz 
Length
17
7
cminch
cm inch 

The Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) is a medium-sized bird of the pheasant family that is found in East Asia. It was first considered a subspecies of the Common quail, but since 1983 it was distinguished as its own species. The Japanese quail has played an active role in the lives of humanity since the 12th century and continues to play major roles in industry and scientific research. Where it is found, the species is abundant across most of its range.

Appearance

As chicks, both males and females have the same kind of plumage and coloring. Their heads are tawny in color, with small black patches littering the area above the beak. The wings and the back of the chick are pale brown, the back also having four brown stripes running along its length. A pale yellow-brown stripe surrounded by smaller black stripes runs down the top of the head. Both male and female adults have predominantly brown plumage. However, markings on the throat and breast, as well as the particular shade of brown of the plumage, can vary quite a bit. The breast feathers of females are littered with dark spots among generally pale feathers. Contrastingly, male breast feathers show off a uniform dark reddish-brown color that is devoid of any dark spots. This reddish-brown coloration also appears in the male cheek, while female cheek feathers are more cream-colored. Some males also exhibit the formation of a white collar, whereas this does not occur in any female members of the species. In the breeding season, the male of the Japanese quail has distinctive rufous throat feathers. These are replaced by long pale feathers in the non-breeding season.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Japanese quail breed in the East and Central Asia, in such areas as Manchuria, southeastern Siberia, northern Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. However, they have also been observed to breed in some regions of Europe, as well as Turkey. These are primarily ground-living birds that tend to stay within areas of dense vegetation to take cover and evade predation. Their natural habitats include grassy fields, bushes along the banks of rivers, and agricultural fields that have been planted with crops such as oats, rice, and barley. They also prefer open habitats such as steppes, meadows, and mountain slopes near a water source.

Climate zones

Habits and Lifestyle

Japanese quail are social and live in family groups. When the young become mature, the families join flocks that may contain up to 100 or even more birds; within these flocks, quail spend time together and protect one another. At any sign of danger, quail prefers to run and hide in dense vegetation rather than to fly away. These birds are active throughout the day but they usually feed and drink at the beginning and end of the day. To communicate with each other, they use 28 different call types; males and females produce different vocalizations. The typical call of the Japanese quail is characterized by a 'deep hollow' sound that precedes a final, major trill.

Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Japanese quail are herbivores (granivores) and carnivores (insectivores). Their diet includes many different types of grass seeds such as white millet and panicum. They also feed upon a variety of insects, their larvae, and other small invertebrates. Chicks like cracked millet, cracked sunflower seeds, dried mealworms, and live crickets.

Mating Habits

REPRODUCTION SEASON
peak in the summer
INCUBATION PERIOD
16.5 days
FEMALE NAME
hen
MALE NAME
cock
BABY NAME
chick
web.animal_clutch_size
9-15 eggs

Japanese quail are both monogamous (one male to one female) and polygynous (one male and few females). A study of domesticated birds reveals that females tend to bond with one or two males (polyandrous behavior), though extra-pair copulations are also frequently observed. The peak of breeding activity usually occurs during the summer. The female lays a clutch of between 9 to 15 eggs in a scrape nest in the ground lined with vegetation. The incubation of the egg starts as soon as the last egg in the clutch is laid and lasts an average of 16.5 days. The female does most of the incubation of the eggs, becoming increasingly intolerant of the male throughout the incubation process. Eventually, the female will drive the male away before the eggs hatch. Thus, the females also provide all of the parental care to the newly hatched young. The chicks are born fully developed; they can run and feed for themselves within a few hours of hatching. The chicks are capable of catching small to medium-sized crickets within the first week of hatching and can consume much larger crickets by the second week. The young feed in the group and constantly peep at each other to keep together. At the age of 4 to 6 weeks, quail chicks are considered to be reproductively mature and ready to breed.

Population

Population threats

Japanese quail are threatened by the changes in the agriculture throughout their range and by overhunting.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Japanese quail total population size. According to the IUCN Red List national population estimates include: around 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and around 1,000-10,000 individuals on migration in China; around 100-10,000 breeding pairs, around 50-1,000 individuals on migration and less than 50 wintering individuals in Japan and around 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs in Russia. Overall, currently, Japanese quail are classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List and their numbers today are decreasing.

Domestication

The earliest records of domesticated Japanese quail populations are from 12th century Japan; however, there is evidence that these birds were actually domesticated as early as the 11th century. They were originally bred as songbirds, and it is thought that they were regularly used in song contests. In the early 1900s, Japanese breeders began to selectively breed for increased egg production. By 1940, the industry surrounding quail eggs was flourishing. However, the events of World War II led to the complete loss of quail lines bred for their song type, as well as almost all of those bred for egg production. After the war, the few quails left were used to rebuild the industry, and all current commercial and laboratory lines today are considered to have originated from this population of quails.

DOMESTICATION STATUS Domesticated

Fun Facts for Kids

  • Male Japanese quail are usually smaller than females.
  • During their migration, Japanese quail cover 400-1000 km (248-621 miles) - an amazing distance for a bird that is not famous for its flying capability.
  • Japanese quail can see in color and their perception of color is greater than that of form or shape.
  • Japanese quail are also avid dust bathers and take numerous bouts of dust bathing each day. When dust bathing, they will rake their bill and legs across the ground to loosen up the ground, and then use their wings to toss the dust into the air. As the dust falls back down to the ground around the birds, they will shake their body and ruffle their feathers to ensure they receive a thorough coating. This behavior aids in feather maintenance and parasite removal.

References

1. Japanese Quail on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_quail
2. Japanese Quail on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22678949/95209097
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/605106

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