Brown Quail

Images ©:
©Suzanne Jones

Coturnix ypsilophora

Small ground-dwelling bird, up to 20 cm. Variable in colour, ranging from red-brown to grey-brown with fine white streaks and black barring above. Chestnut-brown below. Eye is red to yellow. Bill is black. Legs and feet are orange-yellow. In Tasmania, the quail is larger, more heavily marked with black and paler below than males.

Details
Type
Bird
Group
Animals
Quail
Other Common Names
Swamp Partridge, Swamp Quail
Biology

Breeding season: August to May. Clutch size is seven to ten. Nest is a scrape on the ground, lined with grass, hidden in thick grasses under overhanging vegetation, not far from water. Both sexes incubate eggs. Young leave the nest straight after they hatch. Quails rarely fly, preferring to hide unless an intruder flushes them; then they fly low to the ground, with a rapid whirring flight.
Distinctive Markings

White streaks and barring across the back.
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Galliformes
Family
Phasianidae
Genus
Coturnix
Species
ypsilophora

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

A group of quails is called a covey.

Interesting Facts
Diet

Omnivore. Feeds on seeds and green shoots, but also on insects.
Habitat

Found in grasslands, wetlands and agricultural areas.
Native Status
Native to Australia
Audio
Sounds
Double-noted, ascending whistle "pi-pieer", also sharp alarm chirp.