The Mystery Singing Quail

[jenjscott]

Quote:
Try www.flickr.com or www.photobucket.com for storing photos online. a lot of free storage available.

 

[Sushi]

"The Singing Quail (Dactylortyx thoracicus) is a species of bird in the Odontophoridae family. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montanes." - Wikipedia

From what I gather from "Wildlife of Mexico: Game Birds and Mammals" by A.Starker Leopold, these birds live in the thick forested underbrush in the mountain areas, and their food consists of whatever they manage to scratch out of the ground, mostly grubs and insects and it describes some sort of tiny little plant bulbs they ate as well. Apparently not much is known about them but they mate in pairs, so I would assume a 1:1 ratio would be the best to keep them in. They are quite shy so they need a lot of cover.

 

[Sushi]

http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v069n02/p0123-p0148.pdf

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/files/imagecache/node/pictures/Eisermann_Dactylortyx_thoracicus.jpg

 

[theauberts9]

Hi South African Breeders I am a beginner and only a few months ago purchased a male and female singing quail. All the information I read was that they would not breed unaided by an incubator and that any babies would be soooo small that they would be able to get thru the normal small square aviary mesh.
Well, the first part of the information was proved wrong in February when from six eggs my quail hatched four babies. The second part proved right. There was a small gap under the nesting area door, under which the smallest of the four escaped. I have now sealed all areas.
They certainly are small - a ball of fluff on legs.
My female is now sitting on a clutch of six eggs again !!!
The 3 remaining chicks are now half the size of the parents and so far have not acquired the face markings. They all look the same, with definite markings on their backs and soft feathers on their chests.
The art of breeding I can only put down to the fact that I have flower boxes around my octagonal aviary and a separate nesting area for the doves and finches. In the flower boxes I have plants such as grasses, ferns and palms.
The quail are very secretive birds and timid - however this does not stop the male defending his chicks when I enter the aviary

I am looking for information as to how old must the chicks be before they get their orange face markings and, if male, their striped breasts?

My problem is, if my birds are going to continue breeding successfully -

a) will the male parent bird mate with his sibling females?
b) if I introduce another male (fresh blood) will he fight like a cockrel does with chickens?

My local pet store insists they only purchase pairs of quails from different blood lines ..... now there's a problem straight away.

As to the questions raised regarding feeding your quail

Yes they eat seed and when I move the bird baths and water dispensers on the floor of the aviary they rush to attack any bugs or worms under them.
I have purchased small mealie worms and earth worms but although the male makes a dramatic flurry kicking up the ground he doesn't seem to relish them as much as one would expect and most die. Rather leave them to their natural devices provided you have an earth floor and plants inside the aviary where they can obtain insects from.

To me a quail is not a pet - rather a very pleasant singing bird and best left alone to their natural behaviours.

I have seen pictures of quails in aviaries with normal chicken mesh - believe me any baby will disappear thru or under a space less than half inch in size - so if you are considering breeding make sure that the base of your aviary or coup is double lines and preferably sealed and covered in up to about 6 inches in height .....

They are so well camouflaged you would never find them in your flower beds should they escape.

Hope someone has some information for me and best of all willing to swap my chicks with their chicks.....