Listen to the common quail
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the common quail
The common quail is a bird in the family Phasianidae (order Galliformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 34 cm and weigh around 8 g.
What does the common quail sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as nocturnal flight call, song and flight call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) or European quail is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India.
With its characteristic call of three repeated chirps (repeated three times in quick succession), this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as "least concern". It should not be confused with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), native to Asia, which, although visually similar, has a call that is very distinct from that of the common quail. Like the Japanese quail, common quails are sometimes kept as poultry.
Related birds in the genus Coturnix
More from the family Phasianidae
Chicken
Gallus gallus domesticus
Indian peafowl
Pavo cristatus
Western capercaillie
Tetrao urogallus
Common pheasant
Phasianus colchicus
Red junglefowl
Gallus gallus
Black grouse
Lyrurus tetrix
Hazel grouse
Tetrastes bonasia
Wild turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Rock ptarmigan
Lagopus muta
Congo peafowl
Afropavo congensis
Grey junglefowl
Gallus sonneratii
Frequently asked questions
What does a common quail sound like?
You can hear 4 recordings of the common quail on this page, including its nocturnal flight call, song and flight call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the common quail endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the common quail as “least concern”.
What family does the common quail belong to?
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) belongs to the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.
Sources & credits
- Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) (W1CDR0001390 BD1) – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Nocturnal flight call, song · Fontaine-le-Comte, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Flight call, nocturnal flight call · Dresden, Dresden, Sachsen, Germany by Jens Loose – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Nocturnal flight call · Fontaine-le-Comte, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q28358 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Common quail – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by christoph_moning – CC BY 4.0