Harlequin quail

The Montezuma quail of Central America and the southwestern U.S. is sometimes called the harlequin quail.

Harlequin quail
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Coturnix
Species:	C. delegorguei
Binomial name
Coturnix delegorguei Delegorgue, 1847
Synonyms
Coturnix fornasiniBianconi 1865 [2] [3]

The harlequin quail (Coturnix delegorguei) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Arabian Peninsula. ^[4] The species is named after the collector, Adulphe Delegorgue.

Taxonomy

Drawing of the head

There are three subspecies: ^{[5] [4]}

• C. d. arabicaBannerman, 1929 – Southwest Arabian Peninsula
• C. d. delegorgueiDelegorgue, 1847 – Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar
• C. d. histrionicaHartlaub, 1849 – São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea

Introductions

The uncontrolled introduction of domestic Japanese quail breeds into Kenya, as well as a noticeable population size reduction of wild African harlequin quail numbers in parts of Western Kenya has been reported. ^[6]

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Coturnix delegorguei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22678961A92796214. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678961A92796214.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
2. Bianconi, J. Josephi (1864). "Specimina zoologica Mosambicana. Fasciculus XIV". Memorie della Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna. 2 (in Latin). 4: 519 at 521–522.
3. Ogilvie-Grant, William Robert (1892). "Notes on the Genus Coturnix". Annals and Magazine of Natural History . 6. 10 (56): 173. doi:10.1080/00222939208677386.
4. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018
5. "Coturnix delegorguei". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
6. Ogada, Stephen; Otecko, Newton O.; Moraa Kennedy, Grace; Musina, John; Agwanda, Bernard; Obanda, Vincent; Lichoti, Jacqueline; Peng, Min-Sheng; Ommeh, Sheila (December 2021). "Demographic history and genetic diversity of wild African harlequin quail ( Coturnix delegorguei delegorguei ) populations of Kenya". Ecology and Evolution. 11 (24): 18562–18574. Bibcode:2021EcoEv..1118562O. doi:10.1002/ece3.8458. ISSN   2045-7758. PMC   8717324 . PMID   35003693.

External links

• Harlequin quail - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds