# Common quail (*Coturnix coturnix*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-quail  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 94 g – 103 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 34 cm |
| Lifespan | 11 years – 14.6 years |
| Diet | Granivore |
| Main food | beetle, earwig, formicidae, insect, seed |
| Habitat | human_modified |
| Egg incubation | 17.3 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 10.3 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.25 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Phasianidae
- genus: Coturnix
- species: *Coturnix coturnix* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Coturnix communis*, *Coturnix linnéi*, *Coturnix migratoria*, *Coturnix vulgaris*, *Coturnix vulgaris*, *Coturnix vulgaris*, *Synoicus lodoisiae*, *Tetuao coturnix*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Common quail (Coturnix coturnix). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-quail