Common Quail

Habitat: Spacious, not overly dry hay meadows and also cornfields, from which the hens and their chicks have usually left before mowing, for example to nearby potato fields. An important prerequisite for their presence is extensive land use.

Appearance: A summer visitor in Europe, with numbers declining; they then migrate to Africa or South Asia in winter. Although apparently a poor flyer, the Quail is a migratory bird that crosses the Mediterranean and the Sahara in a single flight. Many Quails overwinter in countries around the Atlas Mountains. They migrate alone or in small flocks, always just above the ground or water and always at night. In Belgium and the Netherlands, a fairly rare breeding bird – migratory – winter visitor in extremely small numbers.

Breeding season: May – August. Ground nest consisting of a depression lined with stalks and sheltered by vegetation in a field or meadow, preferably a clover field. The female incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks alone. 7 – 14 eggs.

Characteristics: Length 16–18 cm, wingspan 32–35 cm, weight 80–130 g, lifespan 8 years.

Food: A quail eats more animal-based food than other gallinaceous birds, such as insects, spiders, worms and snails, but also young shoots, flowers and seeds. After mowing, it also feeds on fallen grains.