King quails lying down

[tishgif]

Hi there! I'm raising a bunch of king quails and I realised that they have this cute little habit. They'll be walking around and then suddenly dropping close to the ground, almost like lying down flat, and tilt their head while chirping happily all of a sudden. Not really sure how to fully explain this action but has any other kq owner experienced this before? Just wanna know what it's called and why they do it!

If it helps, both the male and females do this. It happens randomly and I've seen almost every one of them do it

 

[nchls school]

I think what you are seeing is an alarmed stance. Most quail, if not all, quail species do this. Quail are prime prey animals-they startle easily and crouch down to be less visible. If they become more fearful they fly straight up. This is a survival adaptation. The chirping may sound happy, but it's a warning call to the others to beware.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yup, my coturnix quail do too.

 

[tishgif]

I think what you are seeing is an alarmed stance. Most quail, if not all, quail species do this. Quail are prime prey animals-they startle easily and crouch down to be less visible. If they become more fearful they fly straight up. This is a survival adaptation. The chirping may sound happy, but it's a warning call to the others to beware.

Oh I see! Always thought it was because they wanted to be preened by the others cos the stances looked similar, thanks for letting me know!!

 

[little-beep]

No, what you described is when the button quail is scared and thinks something is coming to eat it!