Pheasants and Partridges (Phasianidae)
Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) - HBW 2, p. 509
French: Caille des blés
German: Wachtel
Spanish: Codorniz Común
Other common names: European/Eurasian (Migratory) Quail (coturnix); African Quail (africana)
Taxonomy: Tetrao Coturnix Linnaeus, 1758, Europe, Asia, Africa = Sweden.
Forms superspecies with C. japonica, and possibly also with C. pectoralis. Internal taxonomy complex and somewhat confused. Present species has been considered to include C. japonica as a race, but the two are apparently sympatric in Mongolia. African populations may constitute a separate species, C. africana. Birds of E & C Africa often considered to merit subspecific distinction from those in S Africa, and thus awarded race erlangeri; this race formerly applied to Ethiopian population only. Birds of S Africa frequently transferred to nominate cotur.. View all taxonomy...
Forms superspecies with C. japonica, and possibly also with C. pectoralis. Internal taxonomy complex and somewhat confused. Present species has been considered to include C. japonica as a race, but the two are apparently sympatric in Mongolia. African populations may constitute a separate species, C. africana. Birds of E & C Africa often considered to merit subspecific distinction from those in S Africa, and thus awarded race erlangeri; this race formerly applied to Ethiopian population only. Birds of S Africa frequently transferred to nominate coturnix, as deemed to be inseparable; under such an arrangement, erlangeri applied to birds of E & C Africa, and sometimes raised to full species level. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- coturnix (Linnaeus, 1758) - British Is and NW Africa E to EC Russia and EC India, and possibly to Bangladesh; winters mainly in Sahel zone of Africa and C & S India.
- confisa Hartert, 1917 - Canary Is, Madeira and Azores.
- inopinata Hartert, 1917 - Cape Verde Is.
- africana Temminck & Schlegel, 1849 - sub Saharan Africa, from Ethiopia and Uganda to S Angola and South Africa (Cape Province), and also Madagascar and Comoros Is; birds from S Africa winter in Angola, S Zaire, N Namibia and W Zambia.
- Least Concern
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A male walking on the ground La Valdería, León, Castile and Leon, Spain (ssp coturnix)
Jorge Falagán Fern... 27 April 2006 3 years ago 30 sec 4.4
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The bird is a female Marche, Italy
raniero massoli-no... 1 August 2001 8 weeks ago 3.7 -
A female in a cage. Mandra, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece
Theo Mamais 1 February 1994 1 year ago 3.5 -
A male, darker and smaller than the female. Sardinia, Italy
raniero massoli-no... 1 December 1990 8 weeks ago 3.4 -
Common Quail Gujarat, India
deomurari 3 December 2007 33 weeks ago 2.5
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A male singing. Essonne, France
(ssp coturnix)
Julien Rochefort 18 July 2007 33 weeks ago 3
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