Quail

Quails are distinctive due to the combination of their stocky bodies and long, pointed wings. Their upperparts are brown, streaked and barred with buff, while their underparts are a warm buffy orange.

Rarely seen, they are more often heard giving a distinctive “wet-my-lips” call.

Their breeding range reaches as far north as the UK, where they are the only migrant species of the Phasianidae family, which includes heavy ground-living birds such as the pheasant.

Due to their historical decline, quails are on the Amber List but are now in partial recovery. They are also listed on Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Traditional strongholds of quails appear to be parts of Wiltshire, Dorset and in good years the Welsh Marches, East Anglia, low-lying parts of northern England and parts of southern Scotland can be occupied by calling birds. They are very difficult to see, so are easier to hear, usually calling from grass or cereal fields.