email a friend
printable version
closeLC
Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
IUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Least Concern |
| 2009 | Least Concern |
| 2008 | Least Concern |
| 2004 | Least Concern |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
Species attributes
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Does not normally occur in forest |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
Distribution
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 16,200,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 16,200,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Fragmentation | - |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | poor | Estimated | 2009 | |
| Population trend | Decreasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Population justification: In Europe, the breeding population is estimated to number 2,800,000-4,700,000 breeding pairs, equating to 8,400,000-14,100,000 individuals (BirdLife International 2004). Europe forms 5-24% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 35,000,000-300,000,000 individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. | ||||
| Trend justification: This species is declining owing to netting of migrating birds. Local declines may be caused by changing agricultural practices, especially increased use of pesticides (del Hoyo et al. 1994). | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Albania | Native | No | |||
| Algeria | Native | No | |||
| Andorra | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Angola | Native | No | |||
| Armenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Austria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Azerbaijan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bahrain | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bangladesh | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belarus | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Belgium | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Benin | Native | No | |||
| Bhutan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Botswana | Vagrant | No | |||
| Bulgaria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Burkina Faso | Native | No | |||
| Cameroon | Vagrant | No | |||
| Cape Verde | Native | No | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | Native | No | |||
| Chad | Native | No | |||
| China (mainland) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Comoros | Native | No | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | Native | No | |||
| Croatia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Cyprus | Native | No | |||
| Czech Republic | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Denmark | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Djibouti | Native | No | |||
| Egypt | Native | No | |||
| Eritrea | Native | No | |||
| Estonia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ethiopia | Native | No | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Finland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| France | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Gambia | Native | No | |||
| Georgia | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Germany | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Ghana | Native | No | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Greece | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Guinea | Native | No | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | Native | No | |||
| Hungary | Native | No | |||
| India | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Iraq | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Ireland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Israel | Native | No | |||
| Italy | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Jordan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kazakhstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Kenya | Native | No | |||
| Kuwait | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Latvia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lebanon | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lesotho | Native | No | |||
| Liberia | Native | No | |||
| Libya | Native | No | |||
| Liechtenstein | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Lithuania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Luxembourg | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Madagascar | Native | No | |||
| Malawi | Native | No | |||
| Mali | Native | No | |||
| Malta | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mauritania | Native | No | |||
| Mauritius | Introduced | No | |||
| Mayotte (to France) | Native | No | |||
| Moldova | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Mongolia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Montenegro | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Morocco | Native | No | |||
| Mozambique | Native | No | |||
| Myanmar | Native | No | |||
| Namibia | Native | No | |||
| Nepal | Native | No | |||
| Netherlands | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Niger | Native | No | |||
| Nigeria | Native | No | |||
| Norway | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Oman | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Pakistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Palestinian Authority Territories | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Poland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Portugal | Native | No | |||
| Qatar | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Réunion (to France) | Introduced | No | |||
| Romania | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (Central Asian) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Russia (European) | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Rwanda | Native | No | |||
| Saudi Arabia | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Senegal | Native | No | |||
| Serbia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Seychelles | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sierra Leone | Native | No | |||
| Slovakia | Native | No | |||
| Slovenia | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Somalia | Vagrant | No | |||
| South Africa | Native | No | |||
| South Sudan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Spain | Native | No | |||
| Sri Lanka | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| Sudan | Native | No | |||
| Swaziland | Native | No | |||
| Sweden | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Switzerland | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Syria | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Tajikistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Tanzania | Native | No | |||
| Togo | Native | No | |||
| Tunisia | Native | No | |||
| Turkey | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Turkmenistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Uganda | Native | No | |||
| Ukraine | Native | No | |||
| United Arab Emirates | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| United Kingdom | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Uzbekistan | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Western Sahara | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Yemen | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Zambia | Native | No | |||
| Zimbabwe | Native | No |
Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria
| Country/Territory | IBA Name | IBA link |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | Palakaria |  |
| Bulgaria | Ponor | |
| Bulgaria | Rayanovtsi | |
| Bulgaria | Western Balkan | |
| Bulgaria | Zlatiata | |
| Russia (European) | Bryansko-Zhizdrinskoye woodland | |
| Russia (European) | Flood-plain of Algashka river | |
| Russia (European) | Insaro-Kovylkinski | |
| Serbia | Vlasina | |
| Ukraine | Chonovyny marsh | |
| Ukraine | Latorytsya river valley near Chop | |
| Ukraine | Psel river valley (Sary village) | |
| Ukraine | Samars'kyj forest | |
Habitats & altitude
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Pastureland | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Pastureland | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Dry | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Temperate | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 1000 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Utilisation
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food (human) | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | International | Non-trivial | Recent |
| Sport | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | Subsistence, National | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Coturnix coturnix. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 20/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 20/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Phasianidae (Grouse, pheasants and partridges) |
| Species name author | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Population size | mature individuals |
| Population trend | Decreasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | 16,200,000 km2 |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
|
- Summary information on this species - Climate change species distributions | |
|
|