King quail

Male king quail occur in many colors, including blue, brown, silver, maroon, dark brown, and almost black. They have orange feet that are hard and able to withstand a continuous life on the ground like many other game birds. Females are similar to the males, but do not occur in shades of blue. They can live up to 13 years in captivity but typically only 3–6 years. In the wild. they may live only 1.5 years. The eggs of king quail are a light, creamy-brown colour and slightly pointed at the "top", roughly ovular in shape.

Six subspecies are recognized:[2]

• S. c. chinensis (Linnaeus, 1766): Found from India and Sri Lanka to Malaya, Indochina, southeastern China, and Taiwan
• S. c. trinkutensis Richmond, 1902: Nicobar blue-breasted quail, found on the Nicobar Islands
• S. c. lineatus (Scopoli, 1786): Found in the Philippines, Borneo, Lesser Sundas, Sulawesi and Sula Islands
• S. c. lepidus (Hartlaub, 1879): Found in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago
• S. c. victoriae (Mathews, 1912): Found in eastern Australia
• S. c. colletti (Mathews, 1912): Found in northern Australia

The species has had a complex taxonomic history, being classified into the genus Coturnix, then Synoicus, then Excalfactoria. Phylogenetic evidence supports it belonging in an expanded Synoicus that, alongside the blue quail (S. adansonii) also includes the Snow Mountain quail (S. monorthonyx) and brown quail (S. ypsilophorus).[3][4]

The subspecies S. c. victoriae was formerly named C. s. australis (Gould, 1865), but the reclassification of the species into Synoicus caused this designation to be preoccupied by the Australian subspecies of the brown quail (S. y. australis), leading to the epithet being changed to victoriae (Mathews, 1912).[2]

King quail eggs and 10-day-old chick

Egg of " Excalfactoria chinensis" – MHNT

The males fight for the right to mate with the females. The winner then breeds every female. Females can then develop and lay an egg within one to two days of being bred. They either build a nest first or lay eggs on the ground. Females usually only go broody when they have collected an ideal clutch size. Clutch size varies from five to 13 eggs. Before incubation starts, all the eggs composing the clutch will have been laid. In captivity, the ideal number of eggs in a clutch is six to eight. The chicks hatch after about 16 days.

This quail has been very popular to keep and breed for many years; numerous mutations have been developed. They are quite hardy once they have adjusted to their surroundings and keep the bottom of an aviary spotless. A great advantage of these quail is that they live exclusively on the ground, and do not interfere with other birds.[8] The cost of purchasing and maintaining them is very little. They have been known to become hand-tame.

They may be housed in pairs to quartets in a planted aviary, kept singly in bird cages, or in colonies in large flights. Males may compete, as may females. Suspension cages do not work well for this species of quail because of their smaller feet; a much finer size of floor wire should be employed.[9]

Females lay an egg a day if kept on the proper diet. Nesting sites can be as spartan as a quiet corner or a depression in the ground against a wall. Preferably, a clump of long grass, tea tree branches, or pile of loose herbage should be provided. Often, a hen lays eggs on the aviary floor without the use of a nest. This is a sign that the birds are not content with the existing facilities and the provision of a sheltered nest site may result in a nest being built. The cock usually selects the nest site.[10] The nest is a simple scrape in the ground, lined with grasses, and is built by the hen with some assistance from the cock. The eggs measuring 25 x 19mm are variable in colour from the palest of browns to dark olive and peppered with fine black spots. Clutch size varies from four to 13, but occasionally a hen can be found incubating upwards of 20 eggs. It is usually a combined clutch from a number of hens, and due to the difficulties of turning and covering a clutch of that size, hatching rate is often poor. Removing some of the eggs and artificially incubating or fostering them may be beneficial.[10]

The species usually breeds year-round; incubation times are from 18 to 23 days before chicks hatch. The hen cares for the chicks until around 4 weeks of age, when they should be separated from parent birds into a separate aviary.

In the wild, the diet of king quail consists of small bugs, seeds, and various grasses that are available at the time. In aviculture, all birds should be fed a variety of seeds and a healthy range of fruit and vegetables. During breeding, hens should be fed calcium-rich food sources such as shell grit to prevent egg binding. Newly hatched chicks should be fed high-protein chick crumb mixed with a little water. Other sources of protein include mealworms and various insects.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Excalfactoria chinensis.

Wikispecies has information related to Coturnix chinensis.

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• ITIS Standard Report Page: Coturnix chinensis taxonomic details (includes subspecies)