Common Quail
Coturnix coturnix
Small pear-shaped gamebird. Breeds in taller grassland and grain fields from western Europe east to central Asia and winters in similar habitat in Africa, southern Europe, and South Asia. Rarely seen, and most often detected by male’s emphatic whistled "wet-my-lips!" song, which can be given at night. When flushed, explodes from underfoot and flies off strongly with whirring wingbeats and short glides. Plumage cryptic and streaky brown with pale eyebrow; male has black throat stripe. Very similar to Japanese Quail, whose male has a much darker face; females, immature birds, and domestic types (kept as captive for eggs and can escape) are probably not safely separable in the field.
识别特征
The common quail is a small compact gallinaceous bird .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}16–18 cm (6+1⁄2–7 in) in length with a wingspan of 32–35 cm (12+1⁄2–14 in). The weight is 70 to 140 g (2+1⁄2 to 5 oz). It is greatest before migration at the end of the breeding season. The female is generally slightly heavier than the male. It is streaked brown with a white eyestripe, and, in the male, a white chin. As befits its migratory nature, it has long wings, unlike the typically short-winged gamebirds. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, "small migratory game bird of the Old World, late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname, Quayle), from Old French quaille (Modern French caille), perhaps via Medieval Latin quaccula (source also of Provençal calha, Italian quaglia, Portuguese calha, Old Spanish coalla), or directly from a Germanic source (compare Dutch kwakkel, Old High German quahtala, German Wachtel, Old English wihtel), imitative of the bird's cry. Or the English word might have come up indigenously from Proto-Germanic."
分类信息
The common quail was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tetrao coturnix. The specific epithet coturnix is the Latin word for the common quail. This species is now placed in the genus Coturnix that was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalist François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault. The common quail was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). The ranges of the two species meet in Mongolia and near Lake Baikal without apparent interbreeding and in captivity the offspring of crosses show reduced fertility. The Japanese quail is therefore now treated as a separate species.<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- 学名
- Coturnix coturnix
- 命名信息
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- 目
- Galliformes
- 科
- Phasianidae
- 属
- Coturnix
分布与栖息地
This is a terrestrial species, feeding on seeds and insects on the ground. It is notoriously difficult to see, keeping hidden in crops, and reluctant to fly, preferring to creep away instead. Even when flushed, it keeps low and soon drops back into cover. Often the only indication of its presence is the distinctive "wet-my-lips" repetitive song of the male. The call is uttered mostly in the mornings, evenings and sometimes at night. It is a strongly migratory bird, unlike most game birds.<p>The common quail has been introduced onto the island of Mauritius on several occasions but has failed to establish itself and is now probably extinct.
- 繁殖区
- AF, IO, PAL : Europe and c Asia
- 非繁殖区
- AF, India
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
保护状况
Population trend: declining.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Rote Boobook
Ninox rotiensis
Found only in forested areas on Rote Island, this medium-sized brown owl is physically all but identical to several closely-related species spread out across Indonesia and Australasia; fortunately, no others are present on Rote. Note the bright yellow eyes, speckled underparts, and large round head characteristic of the Boobooks. Gives a very dry, grating “grukgruk”, often in extended series and in duets. Formerly regarded as a subspecies of Southern Boobook.
Cone-billed Tanager
Conothraupis mesoleuca
Recently rediscovered tanager. Males are black and white with a whitish-gray bill and small white wing patch. Females are uniformly olive-brown with a darker bill. Found in seasonally flooded forests along rivers and in gallery forest, but always near water. Forages at lower levels but also perches in the tops of trees. Feeds on seeds but also has been reported flycatching. The song begins with a series of low notes and finishes with a trill: “tche, tche, tche, tche, tche, tcherrrrrrrrrrrr, tcherrrrrrrrr, tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”
Rufous-cheeked Tanager
Tangara rufigenis
Beautiful aquamarine tanager with rufous mask. Several shades of blue on body: back is darker aquamarine, underparts mostly turquoise, belly cream, and undertail cinnamon. Sexes similar. Uncommon, often alone but also in small groups and mixed species flocks foraging in canopy or mid-levels. Occurs at low to high elevations in cloud forest and edges, but most often at middle elevations. Similar to other small tanagers, but color patterns distinctive. Endemic to the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela.
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。