Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

In Africa, these quail range from Sierra Leone to Ethiopia south to Zam­bia, Cape Province, and Natal (Rut­gers and Nor­ris, 1970; Johns­gard, 1988), then east­ward to Kenya (Jack­son, 1926). They are ab­sent from the Congo basin and other dry areas (Rut­gers and Nor­ris, 1970; Johns­gard, 1988). These quail are con­sid­ered to be par­tially mi­gra­tory (Jack­son, 1926; Clancy, 1967). (Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988; Rut­gers and Nor­ris, 1970)

• Biogeographic Regions
• ethiopian
  • native

Habi­tat

African blue quail in­habit ter­res­trial grass­lands and cul­ti­vated areas (Jack­son, 1926) in trop­i­cal re­gions. Specif­i­cally, they occur in pairs in lush grasses bor­der­ing rivers (Clancy, 1967), wet grassy or marshy areas (Johns­gard, 1988), grassy plains and mead­ows, and weedy cover in fal­low cul­ti­vated fields and gar­dens (Clancy, 1967). (Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988)

• Habitat Regions
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland

• Wetlands
• marsh

• Other Habitat Features
• agricultural

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

African blue quail are 14 to 16.5 cm in length. Wing length for males is 78 to 82 mm and 80 to 84 mm for fe­males. Tail length is 26 to 32 mm and 29 to 31 mm for males and fe­males, re­spec­tively (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1988).

In gen­eral, these quail closely re­sem­ble Co­turnix chi­nen­sis, ex­cept that the male lacks the chest­nut col­or­ing un­der­neath, and the fe­male lacks the heav­ier black bar­ring on the wing coverts (Johns­gard, 1988). The male has a brown head, cheeks and side of his head (Rut­gers and Nor­ris, 1970). A dis­tinc­tive bluish color is ev­i­dent when the male is flushed from cover. As with C. chi­nen­sis, the fe­male lacks the white and black throat mark­ings, gray un­der­neath, and chest­nut col­or­ing on the flanks (Johns­gard, 1988). (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1988; Rut­gers and Nor­ris, 1970)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes colored or patterned differently

• Range mass

  43 to 44 g

  1.52 to 1.55 oz

• Range length

  14 to 16.5 cm

  5.51 to 6.50 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on the mat­ing sys­tem for this species at this time.

The breed­ing sea­son oc­curs dur­ing a pro­longed pe­riod of time, de­pend­ing on tem­per­a­ture and rain­fall pat­terns (Johns­gard, 1988). For ex­am­ple, in South Africa, the breed­ing sea­son is De­cem­ber to April (Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988), whereas it is from May to July in Uganda (Johns­gard, 1988).

The nest con­sists of a scrape on the ground in weeds or grass lined with a bit of grass leaves or roots (Clancy, 1967). Clutches are from six (Jack­son, 1926) to nine eggs that are olive-green or pale yel­low­ish-brown and are unspot­ted and rough in tex­ture. The thick-shelled eggs are 24 to 29 mm long by 19 to 21 mm wide (Clancy, 1967). They weigh ap­prox­i­mately 4.5 g. In­cu­ba­tion time is 16 days (Johns­gard, 1988). (Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988; Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988; Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• fertilization
  • internal
• oviparous

• Breeding season

  December to July

• Range eggs per season

  6 to 9

• Average time to hatching

  16 days

In­cu­ba­tion time is 16 days. Chicks are pre­co­cial and are cared for by both par­ents and re­main in the fam­ily group until they can fly. (Johns­gard, 1988)

• Parental Investment
• no parental involvement
• precocial
• pre-fertilization
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on the lifes­pan of this species at this time.

Be­hav­ior

African blue quail have fast and di­rect flight. They are dif­fi­cult to flush from cover (Clancy, 1967). These quail are not ter­ri­to­r­ial (Johns­gard, 1988) and are con­sid­ered to be par­tially mi­gra­tory (Jack­son, 1926; Clancy, 1967). (Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988)

• Key Behaviors
• flies
• motile
• migratory

Home Range

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on the home range for this species at this time.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Dur­ing the breed­ing sea­son, the call of the male is a three note pip­ing whis­tle, where the notes de­scend in scale. The first note is shrill and the last two notes are softer in tone. When flushed from cover, a squeaky three-note call is ut­tered (Clancy, 1967). (Clancy, 1967)

• Communication Channels
• acoustic

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

These quail feed on a va­ri­ety of grass and weed seeds, green veg­e­ta­tion, in­sects (Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988), and small land mol­lusks (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1988). These quail be­come fat after ex­ten­sive eat­ing in prepa­ra­tion for mi­gra­tion (Jack­son, 1926). (Clancy, 1967; Jack­son, 1926; Johns­gard, 1988)

• Primary Diet
• omnivore

• Animal Foods
• insects
• mollusks

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts

Pre­da­tion

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on pre­da­tion for this species at this time.

Ecosys­tem Roles

These quail af­fect the in­sect and plant poplu­a­tions they feed on.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

African blue quail pro­vide food for hu­mans in Africa and are some­times kept in aviaries.

• Positive Impacts
• pet trade
• food

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no known ad­verse af­fects of these quail on hu­mans.

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

African blue quail have not been listed by ei­ther the IUCN or CITES.

• IUCN Red List

  Not Evaluated

• CITES

  No special status

Other Com­ments

These quail are closely re­lated to Co­turnix chi­nen­sis (Johns­gard, 1988). (Johns­gard, 1988)

Con­trib­u­tors

Alaine Cam­field (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Jan­ice Pap­pas (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Ref­er­ences

Clancy, P. 1967. Game­birds of South­ern Africa. Cape Town: Pur­nell & Sons Ltd.

Jack­son, F. 1926. Notes on the Bame Birds of Kenya and Uganda. Lon­don: Williams & Nor­gate, Ltd.

Johns­gard, P. 1988. The Quails, Par­tridges, and Fran­col­ins of the World. Ox­ford: Ox­ford Uni­ver­sity Press.

Rut­gers, A., K. Nor­ris. 1970. En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Avi­cul­ture, Vol. 1. Lon­don: Bland­ford Press.