| Blue quail | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Synoicus |
| Species: | S. adansonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Synoicus adansonii | |
| Synonyms | |
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Theblue quail orAfrican blue quail[2] (Synoicus adansonii) is a species ofbird in the familyPhasianidae found insub-Saharan Africa.
The blue quail was described asCoturnix adansonii byJules Verreaux andÉdouard Verreaux in 1851.[3] It is named after the French naturalistMichel Adanson.[4] The species has had a complex taxonomic history, being classified into the genusCoturnix, thenSynoicus, thenExcalfactoria. Phylogenetic evidence supports it belonging in an expandedSynoicus that, alongside theking quail (S. chinensis) also includes theSnow Mountains quail (S. monorthonyx) andbrown quail (S. ypsilophorus).[5][6] TheIOC World Bird List andHandbook of the Birds of the World now both place it inSynoicus. Sometimes considered a subspecies of the king quail, the species ismonotypic.[7]
The species is found in sub-Saharan Africa.[2] It ranges fromSierra Leone toEthiopia, and south toZambia, and eastward toKenya.[8] 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.[8]
The blue quail is 14–16.5 cm (5.5–6.5 in) long and weighs 43–44 g (1.5–1.6 oz).[8] Its legs are yellow. The colour of the eyes varies from brown in the juvenile to red in the breeding male.[2] The species issexually dimorphic.[2] The male's plumage is mostly dark slaty-blue, with rufous patches on its wings.[9] The male has a black beak,[2] a brown head,[8] and a black and white throat.[9] There is a white patch on its breast. Itsflight 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]
The blue quail is migratory, changing regions at the start of the rainy season and again early in the dry season.[2] It eats seeds, leaves, insects, and molluscs.[8] Its voice is a piping whistle,kew kew yew.[9] It also gives the whistletir-tir-tir when it is flushed.[2] The blue quail is monogamous. The nest is ascrape. Eggs are usually laid at the beginning of the rainy season.[2] Three to 9 olive-brown eggs are laid in a clutch. The eggs have reddish and purplish freckles. They are incubated by the female for around 16 days.[2] The chicks areprecocial.[8]
The blue quail has a large range and appears to have a stable population trend. TheIUCN Red List of Threatened Species has listed the species as least concern.[1]
