Quail - a wild bird that belongs to the order of chicken. In the old days, it was of great interest to hunters. Today, the number of species has declined significantly. Despite this, quail still continue to be eaten, grown on special farms.
What is this bird like? What appearance does she have? Where do species live? What is the lifestyle of quail? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our publication.
Quail bird: description
Representatives of the species are the smallest birds in the order of chicken. The size of the quail in length is a maximum of 20 centimeters. Adult individuals are able to gain a mass of about 130 grams. The insignificant dimensions of the body allow such birds to move nimbly in dense vegetation without falling into the eyes of predators.
What does an ordinary quail look like? The plumage of the bird in the back has a brownish-yellow hue with numerous dark specks. Feathered abdomen - light yellow. Thanks to this camouflage color, it is extremely difficult to notice quail among tall grasses.
Habitat
An ordinary quail - a bird, whose nests are found practically throughout the territory of Eastern Europe. In domestic latitudes, it is widespread in Siberia, starting from the upper Lena River and ending with the Solovetsky Islands. Quail birds can also be seen in Scandinavia. Quite numerous populations in North America. There is a species in India, China, Mongolia.
Quail - migratory bird or not?
Representatives of the species that live in latitudes, where a stable high temperature of the surrounding space is observed, as a rule, do not leave habitable places. So the migratory bird is quail or not? Only those birds are sent to southern countries every year, whose homeland is quite cold lands.
The quail bird is practically not adapted for long flights. The maneuvers of the species in the airspace cannot be called graceful. Overcoming significant distances during seasonal migrations, they often sink to the ground for recreation. From the northern regions, their path usually lies in African and Asian countries. It is here that the quail wintering, and then return to the place of birth, where they reproduce offspring.
Lifestyle
Leads a quail lifestyle exclusively terrestrial. Representatives of the species rise to the wing only when migration is necessary, or in the presence of extreme threat from predators. In everyday life, the quail bird prefers to hide from enemies in dense high vegetation, making quick dashes.
The choice of grass cover as a habitat left a direct imprint on the habits and appearance of the bird. These miniature creatures are extremely agile. They prefer to live in small groups, performing short flights from place to place. Quail hover low above the ground, performing sharp turns in the air before landing. Representatives of the species refuse to take shelter on tree branches.
Such birds get their livelihood by digging in the ground. At the same time, they actively rake the ground with their rather powerful paws. Quail in nature loves to "swim" in the dust, which allows you to clean the plumage and get rid of parasitic insects.
Food
The basis of the daily diet of wild quail is food of animal origin. Representatives of the species prefer to rake the ground with their paws in search of small insects and reptiles, all kinds of worms, invertebrates.
Wild quail also consume a large amount of vegetable feed. Especially they like the young shoots and leaves of plants. From the quail soil, crumbled grains and seeds are collected.
Breeding
The mating season in ordinary quail starts with the arrival of the first spring warm days. In the northern regions, representatives of the species begin to breed in early summer. Quail and quail do not form long-term unions and permanent pairs, which is often observed in other birds. Males and females mate in random order.
Quail nests are equipped in pre-prepared pits that are dug in the soil. Females lining their surface with dry grass, as well as soft feathers. As a rule, in one clutch there are about eight eggs. In some cases, their number is more than a dozen. Eggs are notable for their small size and brownish tinge with dark spots.
An ordinary quail female hatches offspring for about 3 weeks. After fertilization, the males return to their ordinary existence and take absolutely no part in caring for the laying of eggs. The rearing of the chicks also falls entirely on the quail.
The newly hatched quail chicks are already covered in rather dense fluff. As soon as the young grows dry, he immediately begins to follow his mother everywhere, demonstrating high mobility. Chicks grow at an incredible pace. They become completely independent, sexually mature individuals by 5-6 weeks from the moment they are born. By autumn, young individuals accumulate significant reserves of fat in their body, which serves as a source of energy for them during the upcoming seasonal migration.
Reasons for species abatement
To this day, ordinary quail remains one of the main objects of interest for fans of sports hunting. In the old days, poultry production in the southern regions of our country was of a commercial nature. This attitude towards birds on the part of humans led to a sharp reduction in the number of species. A particularly significant decrease in the number of quail is observed in forest-steppe zones. Earlier in these regions, the population was the highest.
Another reason for the gradual disappearance of quail birds in their natural habitat is the development of land for agricultural activities. Thus, the areas of grassy meadows overgrown with dense vegetation are reduced. It is this environment that serves for quail birds as a place for food and breeding.
Every year, a lot of quail dies during haying by industrial machines. Birds often leave egg clutches when human activity begins in the fields. The problem is that the active phase of work on farmland falls precisely on the period of quailing of the chicks by the bird.
What does a person do to preserve the species? In order to increase the quail population, various environmental measures are carried out. As practice has shown, the most effective solution is to create conditions for breeding young birds in reserves and special farms.
Economic value
Nowadays, quails are increasingly bred as poultry. The largest scale of such economic exploitation of birds is observed in the United States. Due to the fact that the quail is picky in the choice of food, as well as in the living and living conditions, they are able to quickly breed in captivity.
It is worth noting that domesticated quail has undergone impressive changes compared to wild individuals. First of all, this concerns the increase in the size of eggs, the mass of which has become about 45% more. In addition, domestic quail, as unnecessary, lost its ability to fly. Among the birds that are kept in the conditions of farms and household plots, the disappearance of the instinct of nesting, hatching of eggs, and the subsequent care of the offspring are noted.
Today, quail eggs can be seen in almost every store. Breeding projects for these birds look extremely promising, profitable. As a rule, quail hens are kept for a year and a half. In the future, they reproduce a small number of eggs and are suitable only for meat. In captivity, quail do not live long. Deep age for such birds is considered to be about 4-5 years old.
Quail hunting
In the old days, quail fishing was practiced in early summer. The hunt began at sunset. Nets lined the grass. The hunter was located nearby, making sounds imitating the cry of a bird using a special pipe. When the bait quail approached the trap, he immediately became entangled in the net.
Today, representatives of the species are most often hunted with a gun and dogs. The height of fishing occurs during the period of seasonal bird migrations. Hunting with the use of nets these days is carried out only if there is an appropriate permit obtained in environmental protection authorities. In this case, only males are caught, which are fed and handed over to procurement organizations. In order to preserve quail populations in the wild, females caught in the net are released.
Features of keeping at home
Breeding quails is a simple task. These birds are perfectly tame and domesticated, like chickens. They can be kept in terrariums and cages, where there can be 4-5 birds. Nests and poles for them do not organize. In captivity, females lay eggs directly on a substrate of soil and dry grass.
Quail places are equipped with drinking bowls and feeders, which are fixed to the grates from the outside. The terrarium or cage is placed in a warm, dry room, where moderate light is maintained throughout the day. It is not recommended to take quails out into the open, as this leads to their nervous excitement and clashes with relatives.
Breeding of representatives of the species in captivity is possible only by incubating eggs. After all, domesticated females do not feel the need to hatch offspring. Breeders often lay quail eggs for chickens. However, in this case, it is likely that they will be crushed.
The quail is fed mainly with grain. Barley groats, buckwheat, millet, and oatmeal are included in their daily diet. Such birds feel the need for a significant amount of protein food, which is used as minced meat, minced fish, cottage cheese. The quail is also fed nettle, carrots, cabbage. Daily eggs are offered eggshells, small gravel.
