My project list of quail details grew with even more questions.
What did quail eat and how often? Do diets change between young and mature birds? Where do they live if different foods are used between fledgling age and mature bird? I learned these transition zones helped established healthy populations.
Had quail moved from historic ranges to fragmented tracts? If so, what caused them to move? I knew they were originally found on small family farms. As these were gradually lost to big agribusiness operations, how had they fared in recent times? I searched county records for land changes, new subdivisions, stream alterations.
How often do they breed, at what age, and where are nests built? Do both male and females incubate the eggs? For how long, and how many eggs are laid versus how many survive? Typically we learned there is a high mortality in young quail, up to 80 %. In a covey of 12 young, what limiting factors are at work?
Quail are precocial, up and mobile as soon as they are born. Young and fluffy, they can walk and follow the mother within minutes of being born. How might this help in survival compared to baby birds
like robins that are unable to fly, walk, or leave the nest when they are born?
When young are born, do coveys stay together or do they disperse soon after birth? If the young feed first on a high protein diet of insects, then switch to weed seeds and grains, when does this happen, and how will this determine where they live?
A mature bird’ s diet is grass seeds and grains, clover, and ragweed. To digest this roughage, the stomach is composed of a crop and gizzard, like the Thanksgiving turkey. Along with this diet, some grit or small pieces of gravel is needed to help break down the tough seed coverings. But with this plant diet comes a chance for stomach parasites that can take its toll. I needed to know what these were, how they were ingested, and on what plants they are found. Could this be a major cause of quail decline?
What caused the decline? Despite what we know now to ensure survival and provide proper habitat, there are still questions.
Will they come back? I will listen for more quail along Brown County roads.
I remember they were called resilient. •
May / June 2023 • Our Brown County 57