Boost your bird knowledge with quail facts. These quirky creatures are more than just cute, crested birds.
8 Fascinating Quail Facts You Didn’t Know
Published on Dec. 12, 2024
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California Quail Form Large Family Groups
A covey of California quail can include up to 100 males, females and young.
Learn fascinating wild turkey bird facts you should know.
Quail Have a Short Lifespan
This one of our quail facts is surprising. Large clutch sizes help sustain quail populations. Up to 80 percent of the population dies each year.
Bird lifespan: How long do wild birds live?
Quail Fossils Show a Long History
Some northern bobwhite quail fossils found in places as varied as Florida and Arizona are up to 2.5 million years old
Some Quail Stay Close to Home
Montezuma quail don’t cover much ground. They often stay in a small area, moving about 50 yards or less in a day.
Learn surprising ways that birds migrate.
Quail Move Faster Than You Think
Most quail can fly up to 40 mph and run up to 12 mph.
Discover the fastest birds in North America.
These Quail Prefer High Elevations
Mountain quail can live at 10,000 feet, and their babies leave the nest within hours of hatching.
Learn to identify an American woodcock and Wilson’s snipe.
School Students Raised Quail Chicks
In 2024, Long Island students raised and reintroduced 1,000 bobwhite quail chicks into a local state park to combat tick infestations.
Quail Population Numbers
Quail population numbers vary by species. Of the West’s six quail species, three are declining while one, the California quail, is increasing.
Once you finish reading these quail facts, learn all about the Canada goose.
Sources
- Rangeland Wildlife Ecology and Conservation – Quails
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game – Wildlife Express: Quail
- Quail Forever – quail facts
- Riverhead News-Review – First quail released in Suffolk County to combat ticks
- All About Birds – mountain quail
- All About Birds – northern bobwhite
- All About Birds – California quail
