Brown Quail

FAMILY: Phasianidae
GENUS: Coturnix
SPECIES: ypsilophora

OTHER NAMES: Swamp Quail, Silver Quail.

Description:

Medium to large quail. Unobtrusive in its plumage and behaviour, the Brown Quail lives in close association with the Stubble Quail in crops and grass fields. Unlike the Stubble Quail, the Brown Quail is not strongly nomadic (although it is reported to range over large distances between Torres Strait and New Guinea). Rather, its movements are more local and may be restricted to very small pockets of habitat.
Brown Quail live exclusively on the ground and will hide in dense undergrowth rather than fly up when disturbed. Like so many other quail, it will burst suddenly into flight when almost trodden on. It may be found in pairs or small groups of up to 30.

The body plumage of the male is brown with fine black flecks and creamy white central shafts to each feather. The crown is darker with a pale line running down the centre of the head. The face is a pale grey-brown and the belly is buff with black barring. Males occur in several phases. The first and most common is the brown described above; the second (also common) is red. In the red phase, males are distincly more reddish in tone and have finer markings above and below. The third phase is blue-grey and is quite rare in eastern Australia but common in New Guinea. It is a uniform slatey-grey with a dull brown tinge. The eye is orange to brown red or yellow (Tasmania). The bill is a blue black, the legs and feet orange-yellow.

The female differs from the male in that there are no phases. Moreover, she resembles a male in the brown phase but with distinctly larger black blotches on the back and heavier marks below.
Juveniles resemble females and downy young are a uniform brown, ligher on the face and have a pair of faint (lighter) lines on the back.

Length: 180-200mm.

Subspecies:

None.

Status:

In the wild:common to abundant
In aviculture:moderately common

Threats:

There are no formally recognised threatening processes for this species, but its abundance has been affected by human activities. For example, the clearing of forests and woodland to create pastures and cropping lands have greatly increased its habitat. On the other hand, the introduction of pastoralism in the inland savannah regions has exposed it to competition with sheep and rabbits.

Distribution:

Coastal and subcoastal regions with the exception of the coast of the Great Australian Bight and central Western Australian Coast. Also occurs in New Guinea and Lesser Sunda Islands.

Habitat:

Crops and grasslands, taller and ranker pockets of tussock and sedges in low lying swampy ground.

Diet:

Seeds of grasses nd herbs and occaisionally some insects and caterpillars.

Breeding:

Mainly August to March in the south April to may in the north of its range. Nesting is usually in response to the availability of tall seeding grasses.
The nest is a shallow scrape in the ground lined withgrass and leaves and is prepared by the female. It is usually located under a bush or tussock.
Incubation is solely by the female.
As many as 3 broods may be raised in succession if rains are favourable.

In captivity Brown Quail will readily nest on the ground. Thick shrubbery or (preferably) tussock grasses will help to provide the shelter and security they require.

Sexual Maturity:

Courtship Display:

Clutch:

7 to 11 pale creamy oval eggs finely freckled with dusky brown (23mm x 28mm). Incubation period: 21 days. The young leave the nest almost immediately after hatching. Parents force the young to leave the breeding territory at about 6 weeks. At this point the young are fully feathered and about two-thirds grown.

Mutations and Hybrids:

Two forms of Brown Quail have been recognised in the Past. One in Tasmainia (Swamp Quail) and one on the mainland, but this is a misconception caused by the sexual plumage and phases in males. Tasmanian males differ from those on the mainland by their slightly larger size and a pale yellow rather than red eye.