Small game - birds

European quail (Coturnix coturnix)

The European quail (Coturnix coturnix) is a small migratory field bird of the Pheasant family. European quail are generally considered a valuable game. The quail is the only flightless species of hen-like birds found in Bulgaria. The quail is the smallest representative of the order Chickens. There is a slight sexual dimorphism. Its length varies from 18 to 20 cm, the wingspan is 32 - 35 cm, and the mass - 100 - 150 g. Female birds do not differ from males in size. The quail has ocher plumage, with dark and light spots. The ventral side is lighter, usually cream, and the chest is ocher. The male's chin and throat are black-brown, and the female's whitish to white. Above the eyes and in the middle of the crown, there are three yellowish stripes that reach the back of the head. The tail is short. Young birds resemble females, but are slightly lighter. In flight, the quail can be mistaken for the meadow vole. However, the quail has a more massive and short body. Its legs are short and do not extend behind the tail. Takes off with a characteristic sound, flies fast, straight and with very frequent flapping. The meadow warbler has a more elongated body and longer legs, which always extend behind the tail in flight. It takes off almost silently, flies more slowly, with less frequent flapping, and its flight is not in a straight line. The quail is distributed in Europe up to 65° north latitude, Asia, North and South America and the island of Madagascar. He is a flighty species. It winters in the northern regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, Japan, southern China, the Indochina Peninsula and Myanmar. It arrives in Bulgaria in April and departs in September-October. Quail from the northernmost regions fly over singly, while those from the more south gather in large flocks, often numbering thousands of birds, and then fly south. The greatest concentration is observed in the Crimea region. Before the departure, quail nesting in Bulgaria begin to gather in flocks in relatively permanent areas, and later those that nested in the north, called passage quails, arrive in Bulgaria.