The quail is a truly interesting little board, and it has become popular for many hunters as a game bird. The numbers of quail have dwindled in recent years because their habitats have changed and the number of predators has increased. Quail are continuing to hold on, though, and when they can be found they are quite amusing to watch. Here is a guide to the quail as a game bird.

Terminology

The mail quail is called the cock, and the female quail is called the hen. Baby quail are known as chicks. Quail have both plumes and crests, where crests are feathers growing in a series along the top and the back of the head, and the plume is a small feather growing right out of the top of the male quail’s head.

Description

Quail are capable of varying both in size and in color, but they all generally run between 6 oz and 8 oz in weight. Both the males and females are generally the same size in relation to one another. The males are typically easily identifiable because they have prettier colors than the female and they also have a plume, a single feather that sticks up from the top of their head. The length of a quail can easily reach as long as 11 inches. The average quail has a mottled mix of colors, allowing them to blend in well with their natural surroundings.

Habitat

Quail tend to prefer areas that are brushy, especially areas that have areas of new growth that is relatively low, and where they can find cover as well as food. Many sources call the area that quail call their home early successional, which basically means that they like weedy areas. Quail typically live in different areas at different times, and they generally prefer to nest in areas that are not as thick, choosing areas where the vegetation has been around for a couple of years. Quail are constantly hunting for areas where they can find plenty of insects to feed on, especially areas that have low canopies without a lot of underbrush.

Traits

Quail are relatively social in nature, and they live in groups that are called covies. Quails know that there is safety in numbers, and quails know that they can achieve this safety for the most part by sticking to large groups, which they travel in and live in. When they roost in the evenings, they usually use a close packed circle, and all of the quail face outward which means if a predator comes from any side, they will have a chance of protecting themselves or saving themselves.

Feeding Habits

Quail tend to feed during the morning hours and the evening hours, and during the hours in between they tend to loaf around. They may feed during the day as well, however, depending on the needs of the group. Quail mostly eat seeds as well as insects.

Photo Credits: John-Morgan

Originally posted 2009-08-03 05:57:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Hunting and Hunters Lexicon Avoidance - This is commonly perceived as a reaction by a dog to a presence or a stimulus where the dog is avoiding a task by a number of behaviors including but not limited to looking away or traveling in the opposite direction and so on. Axle - The axles......
• All About Quail Hunting Hunting quail and pheasants has been a truly favorable sport for a great many years now. The entire scenario surrounding quail and pheasant hunting has really changed throughout the United States over many years. Because of infrastructural development, the face of hunting for quail and pheasants has definitely changed. But......
• Open Season With fall coming, it is soon to be open season for many different animals for hunting. Seasoned and new amateur hunters will be out in force and will be scouring designated areas for live game in the hopes of a good kill that they will be able to bring home......
• Packing to Hunt with the Family When you are planning on going on a family hunting trip, there are a number of things that you simply should not be leaving home without. It does not matter what type of game you are going for, there are some things that you really just cannot leave home without.......
• Crossbow Hunting May See Rule Changes by Game Commission As far as sports go, hunting and ping pong really have nothing alike. However, hunters who are preparing to enjoy the 2009 archery hunting season have been forced to watch a rather tedious series of parries as the Game Commission's board of directors lodge a series of serve and return......

Related Websites

• Living as Independent Developer Today we interview Andres Martinez, owner of baKno, a game development studio located in Key Biscayne, Florida. They are a group of video game enthusiasts committed to developing new ways to deliver fun, interactive and challenging software. Living as Independent Developer Manuel Marino: You declare yourself and your team as......
• Automated Attendant - Small Office Telephone System Automated attendant integrated in a small office telephone system promptly and capably handles all incoming calls in an office. It automatically connects all calls coming to your office to the right extension, without the intervention of a live receptionist. Auto attendant, once part of expensive, modern phone systems has......
• How Web Conferencing Is Going to Revolutionize Our Future A researcher studying future trends once said that our society is transforming from Atoms into Electrons. What he meant to say by that is we are moving from the physical substance like a real brick & mortar business (The Atoms) to the virtual stores and business on the Internet (The......
• Feeding Two Birds with ONE Seed   I was checking out this blog titled, "Deb Brammer: You and me -- working together" and its posting, "Gluten-Free Company".  It started out with, "You've just invited company and now you find out they have to have a gluten-free diet. Now you are having second thoughts. What will you......
• Electric Bug Zapper- Does it Kill Mosquitos? Bug zappers were invented over eighty years ago as a solution to the need to reduce or eliminate flying insect problems during the spring and summer months. While technological advances have transformed the bug zapper into what is on the market today, the basic bug zapper design has changed very......

Online Stores

• So-Called Dollars Exonumia Coins Paper Money

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.



Categories:

Birds, Hunting, Small

Tags:

canopies, chicks, cock, crests, different times, feathers, game bird, habitats, insects, mail, males and females, natural surroundings, oz, plume, plumes, predators, quail, underbrush, vegetation, weedy areas