Common quail
Coturnix coturnix (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix), also called Quail, is a small bird in the family Phasianidae and the order Galliformes. Adults weigh from 94 to 103 g, with a representative mass of 96.28 g and a wingspan of 34 cm.
Quick facts about the common quail
It is a terrestrial, migratory granivore whose main foods are beetle, earwig, formicidae, insect and seed, and its habitat is human-modified land. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 21,280,000 km².
- Weight
- 94 g – 103 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 34 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 11 years – 14.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- beetle, earwig, formicidae, insect, seedsrc for Main food
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 17.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 10.3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.25src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common quail?
Photos of the common quail
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common quail live?
Not recorded
What is the common quail?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Common quail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_quail&oldid=1384131364), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the common quail sound like?
Is the common quail endangered?
The common quail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common quail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusCoturnix
- SpeciesCoturnix coturnix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coturnix communis, Coturnix linnéi, Coturnix migratoria, Coturnix vulgaris, Coturnix vulgaris, Coturnix vulgaris, Synoicus lodoisiae, Tetuao coturnix
Other names and names in other languages (172)
- QuailEnglish
- Afrikaanse KwartelAfrikaans
- WachdlAlbanian
- ተራ ድርጭትAmharic
- سمانArabic
- سمان شائعArabic
- سمان شائع- فريArabic
- GuallaAragonese
- cogornizAsturian
- chárcharaAsturian
- faipayarAsturian
- falpayarAsturian
- parpagayeraAsturian
- parpariegaAsturian
- parpayarAsturian
- parpayaraAsturian
- parpayariegaAsturian
- parpayuelaAsturian
- páxaru la yerbaAsturian
- zalpayarAsturian
- ЧӀоролоAvaric
- Iwrupa khulluAymara
- Adi bildirçinAzerbaijani
- БүҙәнәBashkir
- ПерапёлкаBelarusian
- Перапёлка звычайнаяBelarusian
- IcipingilaBemba
- ПъдпъдъкBulgarian
- Европейски пъдпъдъкBulgarian
- পাতি বটেরাBangla
- Koailh-soulBreton
- GuatllaCatalan
- GuàtleraCatalan
- guatlla comunaCatalan
- ЛекъChechen
- ВыльдырцыMari
- ВыльдырцанMari
- ПутенеChuvash
- Ахаль путенеChuvash
- Quagliula cumunaCorsican
- křepelka polníCzech
- křepelka polní evropskáCzech
- SofliarWelsh
- SoflieirWelsh
- VagtelDanish
- Almindelig vagtelDanish
- WachtelGerman
- PaśpulaLower Sorbian
- ΟρτύκιGreek
- Κοινό ΟρτύκιGreek
- (Κοινό) ΟρτύκιGreek
- Komuna koturnoEsperanto
- ordinara koturnoEsperanto
- Codorniz comúnSpanish
- PoldvuttEstonian
- põldvuttEstonian
- Galeper arruntBasque
- بلدرچینPersian
- viiriäinenFinnish
- Tavallinen viiriäinenFinnish
- VaktilFaroese
- Caille des blésFrench
- BipkerwikNorthern Frisian
- CuaieFriulian
- Gewoane kwartelWestern Frisian
- GeargIrish
- Gearg choiteannIrish
- GearraghuirtIrish
- Gearradh gortScottish Gaelic
- Paspallás comúnGalician
- QuaylManx
- שליו נודדHebrew
- बटेरHindi
- Obična prepelicaCroatian
- Obični prepelicaCroatian
- PocpulaUpper Sorbian
- fürjHungarian
- Közönséges fürjHungarian
- ԼորArmenian
- Սովորական լորArmenian
- Puyuh biasaIndonesian
- QualioIdo
- KornhænaIcelandic
- QuagliaItalian
- Quaglia comuneItalian
- ヨーロッパウズラJapanese
- Gemak biasaJavanese
- მწყერიGeorgian
- TimarḍifeltKabyle
- НыбгъуэKabardian
- Пÿдÿрчÿнkjn
- БөденеKazakh
- 메추라기Korean
- 유럽메추라기Korean
- ZirsûsikKurdish
- RynkCornish
- Erurumbekwn
- CoturnixLatin
- CaiaLadino
- WuechtelLuxembourgish
- ХхюнчӀаlbe
- туртурLezghian
- QuaggiaLigurian
- paprastoji putpelėLithuanian
- PutpelėLithuanian
- paipalaLatvian
- Parastais paipalaLatvian
- PapelikaMalagasy
- Papelika mahazatraMalagasy
- пулдырчоMari
- потполошкаMacedonian
- Обична потполошкаMacedonian
- ചാരക്കാടMalayalam
- SummienaMaltese
- БүднэMongolian
- Díłdánii yił aheełtʼéhiiNavajo
- KweddeltienLow German
- बट्टाईNepali
- KwartelDutch
- Gewone kwartelDutch
- vaktelNorwegian
- Caillenrm
- SekhwiriNorthern Sotho
- CatlaOccitan
- УæрццOssetic
- CàrcalhoePicard
- Przepiórka zwyczajnaPolish
- PrzepiórkaPolish
- przepiórka (zwyczajna)Polish
- QuajaPiedmontese
- عام کوئلWestern Panjabi
- codornizPortuguese
- codorniz-comumPortuguese
- Quacra europeicaRomansh
- DropyaRomany
- PrepeliţăRomanian
- PrepelițăRomanian
- Prepeliță comunRomanian
- ПерепелRussian
- ПерепёлкаRussian
- Обыкновенный перепелRussian
- Хонуу бочугураһаYakut
- GoaktilNorthern Sami
- váktilNorthern Sami
- prepelica poľnáSlovak
- HutaShona
- KoekoeSouthern Sotho
- ShkurtaAlbanian
- препелицаSerbian
- Obična prepelica - oбична препелицаSerbian
- PrepelicaSerbian
- XrěcchibiSardinian
- Vanlig vaktelSwedish
- TomboSwahili
- நாட்டுக் காடைTamil
- นกคุ่มญี่ปุ่นThai
- Karaniwang pugoFilipino
- BıldırcınTurkish
- Bayağı bıldırcınTurkish
- TshosabannêTswana
- KheveziTsonga
- БӧдёноUdmurt
- ПерепілкаUkrainian
- перепілка звичайнаUkrainian
- cuaja comunVenetian
- Cay nhật bảnVietnamese
- Geweune kwakkelWest Flemish
- IsagwityiXhosa
- KwakkelZeelandic
- 西鹌鹑Chinese
- 普通鵪鶉Chinese
- isiGwacaZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common quail
Other species in the same genus Coturnix.
Japanese quail
Coturnix japonica
Rain quail
Coturnix coromandelica
Harlequin quail
Coturnix delegorguei
New Zealand quail
Coturnix novaezelandiae
Stubble quail
Coturnix pectoralis
CompareCommon quail vs Japanese quailCommon quail vs Rain quailCommon quail vs Harlequin quailCommon quail vs New Zealand quail
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common quail?
The common quail is a bird in the family Phasianidae and the order Galliformes. It falls in the small size class.
How much does a common quail weigh?
Adult Common quail weigh from 94 to 103 g, with a representative value of 96.28 g. The wingspan is 34 cm.
What does the common quail eat?
The common quail is a granivore. Its main foods are beetle, earwig, formicidae, insect and seed.
Is the common quail endangered?
No. The IUCN lists the common quail as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a common quail live?
The common quail has a lifespan of 11 years, and our sources report values up to 14.58 years.
How many eggs does a common quail lay?
The common quail lays 10.3 eggs per clutch, with 1.25 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 17.25 days.
Is the common quail migratory?
Yes, the common quail is migratory. It is a terrestrial bird whose habitat is human-modified land.
Who named the common quail?
The common quail, Coturnix coturnix, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common quail (Coturnix coturnix). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-quail
“Common quail (Coturnix coturnix).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-quail.
@misc{common_quail_2026,
title = {Common quail (Coturnix coturnix)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-quail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}