Common Quail,
A bird of the pheasant family from the order of galliformes. Body length 16-20 cm, weight 80-145 g. Plumage is ochre in color, with the top of the head, back, rump, and upper tail coverts having dark and light brown transverse stripes and spots; there is a reddish stripe behind the eyes, and the throat is reddish. The male has dark reddish cheeks, a reddish throat, and a black chin and throat. The female differs from the male by having a pale ochre chin and throat and the presence of black-brown spots (mottling) on the lower part of the body and sides.
It inhabits fields in plains and mountains. It winters in Africa and Southwest Asia. It spends most of its life on the ground, hiding in the grass, and runs excellently. It takes off reluctantly and does not perch in trees. It flies quickly and straight, often flapping its wings. Before landing, it glides. The male's voice in spring is a characteristic sharp "call," transmitted as "pyt-bildyk..." and repeated up to ten times.
As soon as the grass grows, the quail starts to call, and the males engage in fights over the female. They build nests on the ground. The female lays 8-20 eggs of pale color with black-brown spots; she incubates them for 15-17 days and raises the chicks without the male's participation.
When the grains ripen, quails move to the fields, quickly fattening up and gaining weight. Their diet is mainly plant-based (seeds, buds, shoots), and less frequently insects. Mineral fertilizers and pesticides spread in the fields lead to poisoning and a sharp decline in quail populations, which were previously hunted. In our south and in neighboring Uzbekistan, quails are kept in cages as fighting birds and for their "singing" - loud courtship calls.
Red Book
