Brown Quail and its Management study

In Brown Quail and its Management, Associate Professor Graham Hall, of the School of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England, puts forward a comprehensive study of the lifestyle habits of the brown quail species. The brown quail (Coturnix ypsilophora) is the most widespread of the 11 species of true quail and button quail in Australia. Brown quail are found naturally in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and many parts of coastal Australia, and have been introduced to New Zealand and Fiji.

Professor Hall finds that throughout its range, the brown quail prefers grassy habitats that provide a mix of dense cover for nesting; open, sunny spaces for feeding and basking; and secure areas to escape from predators. If properly managed, the tussock grasslands of Australia can provide all of these ingredients and quail populations can be maintained for many years. Sustainable quail populations require careful thought and planning, followed by on-ground management practices. The objective of habitat management is to provide a mosaic of early successional habitat attractive to quail and meet all of their seasonal food and cover requirements.

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