Blue quail

= Blue quail = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search The blue quail or African blue quail[2] (Excalfactoria adansonii) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Contents

 * 1Taxonomy
 * 2Distribution and habitat
 * 3Description
 * 4Behaviour
 * 5Status
 * 6References
 * 7External links

Taxonomy[edit]
The blue quail was described as Coturnix adansonii by Jules Verreaux and Édouard Verreaux in 1851.[3] It is named after the French naturalist Michel Adanson.[4] The IOC World Bird List places it in the genus Excalfactoria,[5] while the Handbook of the Birds of the World places it in Synoicus. Sometimes considered a subspecies of the king quail, the species is monotypic.[6]

Distribution and habitat[edit]
The species is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.[2] It ranges from Sierra Leone to Ethiopia, and south to Zambia, and eastward to Kenya.[7] The habitat of the blue quail excludes dry areas. Inhabiting mainly grassland and fields, the birds typically live near rivers or other bodies of water.[7]

Description[edit]
The blue quail is 14–16.5 cm (5.5–6.5 in) long and weighs 43–44 g (1.5–1.6 oz).[7] Its legs are yellow. The colour of the eyes varies from brown in the juvenile to red in the breeding male.[2] The species is sexually dimorphic.[2] The male's plumage is mostly dark slaty-blue, with rufous patches on its wings.[8] The male has a black beak,[2] a brown head,[7] and a black and white throat.[8] There is a white patch on its breast. Its flight feathers are brown. The forehead, sides of the head and neck, and flanks of the female are orange-buff. Its crown is brown, with black mottles.[2] The female's beak is brownish. Its underparts are buff, with black bars, and its upperparts have black and rufous mottles and streaks. The juvenile is similar to the female.[2]

Behaviour[edit]
The blue quail is migratory. It often migrates to regions at the start of the rainy season and leaves early in the dry season.[2] It eats seeds, leaves, insects and molluscs.[7] Its voice is a piping whistle, kew kew yew.[8] It also gives the whistle tir-tir-tir when it is flushed.[2] The blue quail is monogamous. The nest is a scrape. Eggs are usually laid at the beginning of the rainy season.[2] There are 3 to 9 olive-brown eggs in a clutch. The eggs have reddish and purplish freckles. They are incubated by the female for around 16 days.[2] The chicks are precocial.[7]

Status[edit]
The blue quail has a large range and appears to have a stable population trend. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has listed the species as least concern.[1]

References[edit]

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External links[edit]
Categories:
 * Blue quail - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds