Brown Quail
Synoicus ypsilophorus
Large, heavily marked quail, but from a distance appears fairly plain and brown. Typically found in swampy areas with long grass. Scurries across pathways in small groups, or explodes from cover when almost underfoot. Distinctive 2-note whistle often reveals its presence.
Identification
The brown quail is a plump, stocky bird which can grow up to a length of .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}17 to 22 centimetres (6+1⁄2 to 8+1⁄2 in) and weight of 75 to 140 grams (2+3⁄4 to 5 oz). The colour is quite variable over the bird's wide range. The male is reddish-brown speckled with black on the head and upper neck and mainly reddish-brown on back and wings. The underparts range from buff or rufous to brown, but always with fine black chevron-shaped barring. The tail is short, dark brown with yellowish barring. The female is similar but rather paler. There are small black spots on the shoulder of the female and the upperparts are barred with dark chevron-shaped markings.<p>The voice consists of a variety of shrill calls with which the birds communicate as they move through dense vegetation. One call is a double whistle, the latter note ascending.
Taxonomy
Although previously classified in the genus Coturnix, phylogenetic analyses have found it to form a monophyletic grouping with several other quail species, all of which have since been grouped in the genus Synoicus. It is thought to be the sister species to the Snow Mountain quail (S. monorthonyx), which was previously classified in the genus Anurophasis.<p>The following subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Synoicus ypsilophorus
- Authority
- (Bosc, 1792)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Synoicus
Range and habitat
The brown quail is distributed in agricultural areas, wet grasslands, shrublands, spinifex savannah, and freshwater wetlands across much of New Guinea and the Lesser Sunda Islands as well as in northern, eastern, south-eastern and south-western Australia and Tasmania, though absent from arid regions. This species has been introduced to Fiji and New Zealand. In Australia it is mostly a lowland species but in New Zealand it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and in New Guinea up to 3,700 metres (12,000 ft). It was introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s and 1870s and is now present in North Island and certain offshore islands. This introduction, and other quail introductions that failed to establish, may have played a part in the demise of the New Zealand quail, an endemic species that became extinct shortly afterwards, possibly because of a lack of resistance to some new disease.
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous-chested Tanager
Thlypopsis ornata
Small warblerlike tanager. Note orange head, breast, and flanks, gray-brown back, and white belly. Sexes similar. Found in montane woodland, edges, and shrubby areas in the Andes from Colombia to Peru from around 1,800–3,200 m. Usually seen in pairs, which forage in the middle levels, often with mixed-species flocks. Compare with Brown-flanked Tanager in Peru, which has duller brown flanks that contrast with orange head and breast.
Masked Bunting
Emberiza personata
A small migratory songbird breeding in low to mid-elevation, moist mixed forest and wintering in woodland and scrub, preferring thick undergrowth, especially dwarf bamboo. Brown, streaked upperparts, grayish head and pale yellow underparts with fine, dark streaking. Male has deeper coloration, stronger streaks, black face and chin. Similar to Yellow Bunting but has more streaking on underparts. Very skulking but presence often betrayed in winter by a high-pitch “chip!”. Song is a short, slow melody ending in a trill, “chip chew chiriririii”.
Black-hooded Sierra Finch
Phrygilus atriceps
Attractive small “finch” that is actually a tanager of the high Andes; found in villages, agricultural terraces, scrubby slopes, and bogs. Associates readily with other small seed-eating birds and in some places is tame and acclimated, begging for food at picnic sites. Handsome male is striking and distinctive with a golden back and plain dark wings (compare with smaller siskins). Female and immature are duller, but dark slaty hood and golden tones to back are distinctive. Compare with Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch to south and Peruvian Sierra-Finch to north.
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