Coturnix coturnix
Silhouette: Marie-Aimée ALLARD · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) or European quail is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India.
With its characteristic call of three repeated chirps (repeated three times in quick succession), this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as "least concern". It should not be confused with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), native to Asia, which, although visually similar, has a call that is very distinct from that of the common quail. Like the Japanese quail, common quails are sometimes kept as poultry.
The common quail was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tetrao coturnix. The specific epithet coturnix is the Latin word for the common quail. This species is now placed in the genus Coturnix that was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalist François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault. The common quail was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Japanese quail... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natura Artis Magistra | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 2 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Muséum de Besançon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Wildwald Voßwinkel | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Reserva de Flora y Fauna Dr. Rodolfo Tálice | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 7 | Tashkent Zoo | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | |
| 8 | Seville Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Paphos Zoo | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | |
| 10 | Kuala Lumpur Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 11 | Budakeszi Game Preserve | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 12 | Leningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 13 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 14 | Bird Park Steinen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Santillana Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 17 | Granja los Pibes | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 18 | Zoológico de Oruro | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 19 | Storchenstation | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 20 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 21 | Ogród Zoologiczny w Katowicach | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 22 | Papilonia Brno | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Quail sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 286th most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Quail in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Virunga National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Quail sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
22nd of 42
Of the 42 parks where we can rate Common Quail sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 22nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 10%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 10%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Quail is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
