Coturnix

Coturnix
King quail
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Subfamily:	Perdicinae
Genus:	Coturnix Garsault, 1764
Species
See text.

Coturnix is a genus of eight extant species and two known extinct species of Old World quail. They are related to the francolins, jungle bush quail, snowcocks and Alectoris (rock partridges). Coturnix and the aforementioned genera belong to their own monophyletic clade, the Coturnicinae, a subfamily within the family Phasianidae. Some authors consider this clade, together with a sibling assemblage, the Gallininae (including the junglefowl, long-billed partridge and Chinese bamboo partridge) warrants classification in its own family, the Coturnigallusinidae.

Coturnix live in pairs or small social groups and form larger groups during migration. Not all species migrate, but most are capable of extremely rapid, upward flight to escape from danger. Unlike related genera, Old World quail do not perch in trees. They devote much of their time to scratching and foraging for seeds and invertebrates on the ground. Typical habitats are dense vegetation such as grasslands, bushes alongside rivers and cereal fields. They are predated upon heavily by the Accipitriformes (diurnal hawks).

Species

Quail species
Common and binomial names	Image	Description	Range
Blue quail (Coturnix adansonii)	120px
King quail (Coturnix chinensis)
Rain quail (Coturnix coromandelica)	120px
Harlequin quail (Coturnix delegorguei)	120px
Common quail (Coturnix coturnix)
†Canary Islands quail (Coturnix gomerae) (fossil)
Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
†New Zealand quail (Coturnix novaezelandiae)		(extinct)
Stubble quail (Coturnix pectoralis)	120px
Brown quail (Coturnix ypsilophora)	120px

A fossil species from the Late Oligocene - Late Miocene of SW and Central Europe was described as Coturnix gallica. Another, C. donnezani, was widespread in Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Europe.

References

• Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002a): Early Pleistocene birds of Stránská skála, Czech Republic: 2. Absolon's cave. Sylvia 38: 19-28 [English with Czech abstract]. PDF fulltext
• The genetic link between the Chinese bamboo partridge (Bambusicola thoracica) and the chicken and junglefowls of the genus Gallus.A Fumihito, T Miyake, M Takada, S Ohno, and N KondoYamashina Institute for Ornithology, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
• Phylogenetic analysis of gallinaceous birds inferred from mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 gene sequences Wee Hui Kit Publisher: 2002.
• A Molecular Phylogeny of the Pheasants and Partridges Suggests That These Lineages Are Not Monophyletic R. T. Kimball,* E. L. Braun,*,† P. W. Zwartjes,* T. M. Crowe,‡,§ and J. D. Ligon*

External links

• Raising Coturnix Quail Organically For Eggs And Meat