Common Quail
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Common Quail in the UK
Quail is a scarce summer visitor and Britain's only migratory gamebird. It arrives late, mostly from mid-May into June. The UK estimate is about 355 calling males in an average year, but numbers swing widely. In 'quail years' many more arrive: nearly 2,000 singing males were logged in 2011. Numbers were stable over the 25 years to 2019 and the breeding range has shifted north. It is Amber-listed. Quail is on Schedule 1, so it is an offence to disturb birds at or near the nest.
Where and when to see a Common Quail
Late May to early August. Stand on a public road or footpath beside large fields of barley, wheat or hay on open, lowland arable and chalk country, and listen. Dusk and dawn are best, and warm, still evenings carry the call furthest. The same fields are often used year after year, so local bird reports are worth checking. You are very unlikely to see the bird. Do not walk into the crop and do not play recordings.
Habitat, diet and field notes
Habitat: Cereal fields (summer).
Diet: Seeds, insects.
Field note: Heard, almost never seen.
How to identify a Common Quail
Tiny for a gamebird: about the size of a Starling, round-bodied and almost tailless. Sandy brown with pale buff and black streaks, and a long pale stripe over the eye. Males have a dark anchor-shaped mark on the throat. Most views are of a bird flushed from underfoot: it flies low and fast on narrow, bowed wings for a short distance and drops back into cover. It looks long-winged for its size, and the tail shows no rusty colour.
Call and song
The male's song is a sharp, liquid, three-note 'whit, whit-whit', usually written as 'wet-my-lips', repeated in bursts by day and night. It carries a long way and is hard to pin to a spot. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.
Confusion species
- Grey Partridge: Partridges are twice the size and show a rusty tail in flight; small young partridges cause most false Quail claims.
- Corncrake: Corncrake is also heard from deep cover but gives a rasping double 'crex crex' and shows chestnut wings and dangling legs in flight.
Month by month
A summer visitor, typically in the UK from May to September. Numbers peak in June. See the June birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.
Conservation status and Birdedex points
In the Birdedex the Common Quail is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is Amber-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the middle level of concern in the UK. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.
Recent UK sightings
No community sightings logged for this species yet. Log the first one.
Similar birds
- Montagu's HarrierRare · Cereal fields (very rare breeder)
- Corn BuntingUncommon · Cereal fields
- European Golden PloverUncommon · Moorland (summer); fields (winter)
- Black-throated DiverRare · Highland lochs (summer)
- Common Grasshopper WarblerRare · Rough grassland
- Eurasian DotterelRare · Mountain plateaux (summer)
Common Quail: quick answers
Where can I see a Quail in the UK?
Think 'hear', not 'see'. Calling males are scattered across lowland farmland with large arable fields and grassland, in different places each year. County bird club reports and news services are the best guide to where birds are calling this summer.
When is the best time to see Quail?
June and July, at dusk or dawn. Arrivals continue well into summer and some males keep calling into August. Spring weather seems to affect how many reach Britain, but the cause of the big 'quail years' is not fully understood.
What does a Quail eat?
Seeds of weeds, grasses and cereals, plus insects and other small invertebrates picked from the ground. Chicks rely on insects for their first weeks.
Kit that helps
Bird ID starter kit. Affiliate links, our own picks, no extra cost to you.
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