Brown Quail

Overview

The brown quail (Synoicus ypsilophorus), also known as the swamp or Tasmanian quail, is an Australasian true quail native to mainland Australia, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea. It is a small, ground-dwelling bird that has also been introduced to New Zealand and Fiji, where it remains widespread and common.

Identification

• Plump, stocky body measuring 17 to 22 centimetres in length.
• Males are reddish-brown speckled with black on the head and upper neck, while females are paler with small black spots on the shoulder.
• Underparts range from buff or rufous to brown and feature fine black chevron-shaped barring.
• A variety of shrill calls, including a double whistle with an ascending latter note, used to communicate through dense vegetation.

Habitat

Found in agricultural areas, wet grasslands, shrublands, spinifex savannah, and freshwater wetlands, typically absent from arid regions. While mostly a lowland species in Australia, it reaches elevations up to 1,000 metres in New Zealand and 3,700 metres in New Guinea.

Diet

Feeds on grasses, seeds, shoots, and small invertebrates while foraging on the ground. The bird prefers to run or hide in vegetation rather than fly, scattering in different directions if startled before regrouping.

Did you know?

The species was introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s and 1870s, a move that may have contributed to the extinction of the native New Zealand quail due to a lack of resistance to new diseases.