Sexing King (Button) Quail - Variants & Methods | BackYard Chickens

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Sexing King Quail

If you're reading this then you probably already know it, but King quail can be VERY complicated to sex, especially for new owners. You'll most commonly read that males will have a red vent, blue breasts, or a bib. However especially with so much cross breeding of color types in this species, rule breakers are occurring more and more often, such as hens with red vents, or hens with blue grey color to their feathers that for new owners will easily & quickly result in the bird being mistaken for a male. So how do you truly recognize traits in such individuals or color types who may not show such colors or bib markings at all? There usually isn't just one single sure-fire way. We have to rely on multiple traits at once & sometimes resort to closely observing the birds for behavioral cues such as tid-bitting (calling ladies to a treat) from males, mating, or an egg.

Another common issue is that the description of a bib isn't always helpful, especially without photo examples. Most hens still display a bib marking which can sometimes be very clean looking resulting in some hens being mistaken for males. Many sites will also tell you that males "crow" however this is a contact call that hens do as well and is practically identical to that of a male. Let's cover these commonly mentioned traits in a bit more detail.

Bibs & Chin Straps?

When we say that a male bird has a Bib, we are generally referring to a larger throat patch that usually is white with a black or dark outline to it. This is often accompanied by a chin strap marking/black throat area just under the beak. Birds of many color types such as red-breasted or Silver may lack the bib and present only a strap, or some may display a bib and no strap. Females can display very cleanly marked chin straps or bib areas making this feature a bit confusing occasionally, although the bib of a hen is quite a bit smaller than that of most males.

Below are some color marked photos for clarification.

An example of a male who clearly shows a chin strap with black throat (yellow) & a Bib (orange). He also displays a nice blue breast with red speckling.

An older photo of a young male who shows a white throat area but no true bib, his chin strap is marked with blue. This is the father of the male pictured above. Note the blue breast & facial coloration as well as the red speckling in the breast again.

A silver male who displays only a chin strap (could also be a VERY small bib), marked in blue. This individual is a Red-breasted silver, note that he shows a nice orange toned pink to the breast & sides.

Two males who lack a chin strap but still display a bib (despite it being rather small on bird #2) & a black throat. Both also have the beginnings of what would be the strap marking, outlined with a small yellow line on the first bird.

There are also plenty of color types who have neither a bib OR a strap, such as bluefaced birds. These can still be identified by a blue breast often accompanied by the red vent. Looking out for a black head is another way to pick out males who may not present the bibs/straps such as Vader males who tend to have an all-black head.

Back to the discussion of females presenting what may be mistaken as a bib, here is a prime example of a bird who'd throw a beginner for a loop. Blue breast? Check. Red vent area? Check. A defined facial marking that could be a bib? Also check! But this bird isn't a male- she is a very interestingly colored Red-breasted HEN. This gender identification thing is real fun, right?

No need to panic over silly birds like her though, they aren't super common (yet..) and with the right pointers it's still fairly easy to figure out what they really are. Most difficulty comes with heavily pied, white, or silver birds which we'll discuss a bit more later. While females as shown can show red or blues it's not the same as that of a male. The blue on a male is still much more vivid & properly widespread, vs this bird who still shows the barred breast pattern of a hen despite blue being mixed in at the ends of her feathers. The markings of her head and the tan throat along with the coloration of her back also still identify her as female (that, and she lays eggs). She also displays red in the vent but as you'll see later it's not as intense or widespread as it is on most males. Many hens can display a chin strap however just as many may not show one at all. Pied birds do tend to have a white throat patch, but this isn't the same as an actual bib and will be covered in further photos as well.

Reds & Blues:

Now that I tried to bamboozle you with a hen, let's cover the reds & blues of a male bird, shall we?

The amount of red or blue shown on males will vary heavily between individuals & color types. It will also be a LOT more vivid in most of them. Some like Red-breasted may show almost no blue on the breast at all while those who don’t quite fit the ideal standard will show a full blue breast. Generally, in most color types the blue will begin just below the bib and extend to around the bottom of the breast with red speckling sometimes already appearing halfway up. It will then transition into a wonderful deep red which will continue between the legs (or also under the wings) to the vent or even the full tail & rump area in some cases. In individuals such as some red breasted rather than showing blue, the red will extend all the way into the breast & up the throat of the bird. The two pictured below are brothers, both red breasted from the same parents but show just how vastly different they can look.

Some colors like the Vader male tend to have an almost entirely blue back with some black markings, and the red can be more widespread than just the vent, not only covering the full breast but a bird may have nearly fully red coverts (as seen above) as well (both of these apply to red-breasted varieties).

In birds such as silvers, the red (if present at all) tends to present itself as pink or orange toned coloration. Others such as the Blueface show varying amounts of blue, with the red generally restricted to the vent and tail area.

Blueface male showing blue that extends from his face (hence their name) all the way down his breast, into his rump & speckled in along his wings.

A Silver red-breasted male displaying orange/pinkish tones on the breast, part of the wings, as well as the vent/rump areas.

Wild type male displaying a blue breast, some blue in the wings/rump, a red vent, and some red in the wings as well.

Identifying Females

Females are most often considered drab compared to males however they are still stunning in their own right. Many color types will exhibit wonderfully intricate markings that in the wild would assist in camouflage especially when sitting on a nest. They may often exhibit barring on the breast, may or may not have a chin strap, and the throat won't be neatly marked white or black like that of many males. It is also important to note that most females may look vastly different than the males of their color type.

Here are examples of several hens with their color types listed.

Blueface Hen. Note that she shows no sign of any throat marking however this variety does tend to show a white throat patch which she displays as incredibly minimal speckling around the bill. She has nice barring to the feathers visible on her wing and breast.

Red breasted hen. She is a more pale individual but shows some barring on the rump as well as a nicely speckled neck/head. She has a bit of a moustache which may form a strap in more heavily marked birds and shows no well-defined bib area, rather fading into some black speckling which fades further into barring on her breast (not visible here)

A darker more clearly marked red-breasted hen. Note nice barring to the breast/body, and a nice bib.

Silver red breasted hen (dilute). She shows a nicely defined bib despite being very pale as well as a lot of barring present over her breast and body.

Golden pearl female. Her chin strap is not defined however she shows fairly typical drab female plumage. This color variety does not always show barring, pearl hens are identified by the feathers on their back ending in more of a tear drop "pearl" rather than a clean streak as seen in wild type females who look somewhat similar to beginners.

A wild type female. She shows a nice beige face with light outlining of her bib area, as well as barring down the breast (although mostly not visible here).

Juvenile Birds

Chicks who are just coming into their first feather are often hit or miss in terms of being able to identify them but some such as the red breasted may already show a black head prior to developing any red or blues on the body. Generally, chicks will initially have female plumage (this is common in many species) before molting again into adult plumage around the 5–7-week mark. When sexing juvenile birds, it's best to watch for the black/whites on the face, deep red feathers showing up around the vent, or blue/red feathers appearing on the breast/underside. Males are easier to pick out during second feather due to more noticeable traits, whereas hens may be more difficult for inexperienced owners to pick out so soon. The black & white facial feathers on males tend to come in first, although watching for these bibs may not work on silvers due to males & females sometimes having similar bibs. The reason both sexes tend to resemble hens as juveniles is a survival measure in wild birds, being drabber/more camouflaged increases their chances of surviving to maturity which is common across many species (such as northern cardinals, peafowl, & other species where the male is incredibly colorful).

Here is a juvenile red breasted halfway molted into his adult plumage.

A golden pearl chick still in first feather, he closely resembles a female but note that a few black chin strap feathers are appearing on the face.

Difficult Colors

As we mentioned multiple times already, many of the previously mentioned identification methods may not apply to certain color types varying between individuals. Silvers for example do often show a bib, or pink tint to the breast/vent however some may have neither and may look exactly like a hen silver (I had one who was only identified by his tidbitting behavior which we cover further below).

Heavily pied birds may be difficult as well, especially as juveniles, or those where the base color can be difficult such as silvers. In "dark" pied birds (wild type, red breasted, etc.) there will generally be at least one or two feathers on the back that can be used to identify gender, as they would often still show the red or blue in certain areas of the body. Even if a pied is not displaying blue/red, they may be black in areas such as the back or face which is a male trait, females rarely show large amounts of black coloration.

A tuxedo winged-pied red breasted hen. If she were male, blue would be visible on the sides of her neck and on her back as well. She would also have red visible in the rump area. She does have a darker head as seen in the view from above, but it is still much darker in males.

Heavily pied female. Note that the few feathers on her rump and back do not display red or blue, and they are not as dark as males.
Thank you Laney Vender (from our Facebook group) for letting me use the photo!

A Blueface Tuxedo male. This color lacks blue on the back and generally does not have large amounts of red in the vent. Notice the blue tint to his forehead, a few blue feathers to the rump, and a few reds peeking out between the white & brown. Photos by Butterfly in our Discord server.

This silver despite having no bib and even displaying some barring pattern was male. He called hens to treats (tidbitting) and produced the beautiful dilute silver red-breasted hen pictured in the "Identifying Females" section.

Behavioral Traits & Others

What do we do with white birds or others that show no obvious male traits while also not appearing female? Crowing or waiting for egg laying is often mentioned however the crow sound often mentioned isn't actually specific to one sex, and some hens don't lay until way after maturity. It's also difficult to find out if a specific individual laid an egg if you didn't get lucky enough to see it happen. King quail also aren't actually domesticated per scientific terms so some hens may rarely lay at all (I had one who laid maybe 24 eggs over the course of a year). With cases like these there are behaviors or specific calls we can trigger that only males would exhibit, although you do need to wait until maturity.

However, another noise IS specific to the male, a territorial growl or purr or sorts, used when trying to find a female or ward off other males. It seems to be especially common in males who are currently alone or in bachelor pairs/groups.

Growling: This is a generally higher pitched noise that lasts 5 seconds or more and is often done repeatedly at a low volume compared to their contact calls. It may be described as a whooshing "greoooooo". Here is a video example, sadly not great as it was filmed from the house through an open window

Mating: This is a super easy one. A mature male will approach the female from behind, grab the feathers of her head/neck, and mount her. I've not heard of any cases of King hens doing this, but it IS exhibited in female chickens who are high on the pecking order.

Flaring: This is a territorial display used when a male feels threatened by another bird's presence or may be exhibited if another bird calls out in distress. He will puff out & generally run towards (or wildly all over the place) the perceived threat opening the wings outwards with the tips toward the ground occasionally dragging them.
>Video example of flaring here

Tidbitting: The male bird will pick up what he deems a high value food source and begin a quiet rapid chirping noise to call over females or chicks if present. This can be triggered by offering the birds a treat such as mealworms, seed, fresh vegetables, or something else they enjoy. They don't tend to do it with their constant food source (crumble feed for example).
>Video example of tidbitting here

Some other traits that don't always seem to be mentioned often are the color of their eyes. Males especially tend to develop deep red eyes or will have white eyes which may change to red as they age (or vice versa depending on color type). Depending on color males also may have brighter (orange or yellow) legs compared to a hen.

The white eyes of a Silver Male. In this scenario, the eyes were originally white & turned dark/red as the bird aged (this generally happens over the course of a few weeks/months). Photo by Shmoopie in our Discord server.

Intersex & Chimera

Here we will cover two different amazing occurrences where a bird may show traits of both sexes (or IS both sexes).

The first is something often referred to as being intersex, although it's more an umbrella term, not true biological intersex. In this case it is due to the bird experiencing a sudden drop in Estradiol or Testosterone, usually due to old age, or a health issue affecting the reproductive organs of the bird. When this happens, a female bird may develop male plumage, or vice versa. This doesn't seem to be an uncommon occurrence in King quail as I've seen it multiple times within a few short years, including in a bird of my own. True intersex is generally when an animal or person has both reproductive organs from birth, with one of the two generally becoming "stronger" and deciding what sex the human or animal will physically or genetically present as.

A 7 year old Blueface male becoming "Intersex". Note that in these photos he still has a few last blue breast feathers & a few reds left in the vent area. The third photo is him in his younger years for comparison.

A friend's intersex hen before & after she developed male plumage.

Chimera birds are similar however in their case it is due to cells of both sexes combining rather than one winning over the other, & they are like this at hatch. This phenomenon is seen occasionally in wild birds such as Northern Cardinals. They may present visually as a half/half bird as seen below, with rare instances being split neatly down the center, or as a biologically intersex animal containing both reproductive organs.

A wild type Chimera who's internal/biological sex was never confirmed. Photo of this wonderful bird was provided by it’s owner, Mr. Juan from our Facebook care group.