King Quail

King Quail is a beautiful old-world quail that is often mistaken for a Button Quail.

The King quail is 12 to 14 centimetres in length and it weighs 28 to 40 grams. The wingspan of the male King quail is 6 to 7 centimetres while the wingspan of the female King quail is 6 centimetres, the tail length of the male King quail is 2 centimetres and the female King quail has a longer tail. The female King quail is larger than the male King quail.

The colors of its key topographical elements is given below...

Beak: Black.
Head: Blue, brown, silver, maroon, dark brown and black with few streaks.
Iris: Red.
Pupil: Black.
Upperparts: Blue, brown, silver, maroon, dark brown and black.
Rump: Dark-brown with streaks.
Vent: Chestnut-red.
Feet: Bright-orange.
Flanks: Red.
Breast: Blue, brown, silver, maroon, dark brown and black.
Throat: One black stripe and one white stripe.

The male King quail comes in blue, brown, silver, maroon, dark brown and black. The female cannot come in blue.

They belong to the Kingdom Animalia, the Phylum is Chordata, the Class is Aves, the Order is Galliformes, the Family is Phasianidae, the Genus is Synoicus, the Binomial name is Synoicus chinensis.

Subspecies - Synoicus chinensis chinensis is found in India. Synoicus chinensis trinkutensis is found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Sounds - The adult male King quail makes a tidbitting call, the adult male King quail also makes a short, monotone peeps. The tidbitting call is for giving food to the adult female King quail from the adult male King quail, sometimes the adult female King quail makes this call.

The adult male King quail makes a mating call during the display. The adult male King quail puffs it's chest, lowers it's wings and darts near a adult female King quail, the adult male King quail makes a low, soft, clucking call.

The King quail produces a loud single-note crowing call. A pair of King quails utter a three-note or four-note crow. A King quail stands upright while stretching it's beak upward, the King quail produces a descending-tone quee-kee-kee, pip-it-kan or pip pit-it-kan with a last note short in duration and descending in pitch.

The adult male King quail produces a low, bellowing three-note or four-note crow. The adult male King quail can also crouch and fluff it's feathers while it lifts it's wings, it utters a low hoarse koraah and distends it's neck and throat, normally the adult male King quail makes this call near a adult female King quail which is incubating it's eggs. The adult female King quail communicates with it's chicks by uttering a faint peeping sound.

Diet - The diet of King quails is small bugs, grass seed, red, white and yellow millet, niger and rape seeds, fresh greens, worms and termites.

Habitat - The King quail lives in moist regions like wetlands with rank grass and rice paddy fields of Bengal.

Behavior - The King quail lives in pair or in convoys.

The King quail walks with a crouched posture with nodding. A King quail tends to crouch down and make a call which is a high-pitched rapid peeping call when in threat.

The King quail has chestnut-red vent for alarm crouchs and calls. A King quail which is aggressive will crouch slightly holding it's head low and beak upward.

The King quail does dust-bathing.

Breeding & Nesting - The adult male King quail makes a mating call during the display. The adult male King quail puffs it's chest, lowers it's wings and darts near a adult female King quail, the adult male King quail makes a low, soft, clucking call.

The breeding season is according to the rains. The adult male King quail fights to mate with adult female King quails, the adult male King quail who wins will mate with all females. The adult female King quail developes and lays an egg in one to two days.

The King quail makes a nest or lays anywhere on the ground of grasslands that are surrounded by marshes and wetlands. The adult female King quail takes care of the eggs only after an ideal clutch.

The eggs that are adult female King quail lay are 5 to 13 eggs. The eggs of the adult female King quail hatch in 16 days.

The eggs of the adult female King quail are light, creamy-brown colour which is pointed at the top making it ovular which are 2 by 1 centimetres which weigh 5 grams.

The adult male King quail never helps with the eggs and young. The young King quails become mature in just one month!

The adult female King quail uses it's beaks to roll eggs while walking backwards.

Threats, Predators & Conservation Status - The King quail lives only 1.5 years in the wild. No reasons are given about why their lifespan is low. However, their Conservation Status is listed as Least Concern as per the IUCN Red List of 2004.