Small bird (about 18 cm or 7 in) with a stubby appearance and earth colour, striated plumage with light and dark spots. Prominent cream-coloured eyebrow and clear throat. The males have a dark coloured anchor shape on the throat and a brown breast. Low-altitude flights, with long wings and fast flappings as highlights.
Cultivated areas
Present in open agricultural landscapes, cereal crops, grasslands, pastures and meadows with absence of trees.
It is a summer bird, present in Malaga only in the breeding period during the migratory passage. Its breeding starts in February and the quail is able to make 2 to 3 annual layings of 8 to 13 eggs. The Common Quail builds its nest on the ground and feeds on seeds and herbs, although in the breeding period it captures small invertebrates. It is a land bird, usually perched on the ground among cereal or grass.
In the Great Path it can be watched in stages 16 to 19.
Quails are hard to see and much easier to hear because of their characteristic call. They are birds with complex mating and migratory patterns in which the "groundlover" behavior of the males stands out, able to travel long distances looking for females in heat to copulate with.
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