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Dick Schodde gave us the "low down" on field
identifying and biology of the local Button-quails & Quails at the COG
meeting last night. It wasn't mentioned and I could add that we sometimes
get the Little Button-quail in Canberra too and the King Quail is a very common
aviary bird that can turn up as escapers/releasees.
The interesting true story of relevance I wanted to
add but didn't get the time is as follows.
I well recall in early 1974 (I was 17) on my first
visit to Canberra, rescuing a aviculturist who had recently bought a pair of
quails from someone else, on the basis that they had failed to show any interest
in each other whilst in this other person's care, for I expect at least a year.
He was sure that with a nice new aviary their relationship would blosson and
they would breed. It was easy to have a close look at them as he had them in a
show cage in his garage, whilst he was preparing a new aviary for them.
Neither owner knew the truth but at close range in the cage, it didn't take long
for me to notice that they just didn't look the same style of bird. As the truth
dawned on me, that these birds were from completely unrelated orders of the bird
world, I told him and had to encourage him to actually have a proper look at
them. The clincher was that I pointed out the feet (that one had a hind toe and
the other didn't) to convince him I wasn't just annoying him with the
truth. The pair of quails comprised a Painted Button-quail and a Stubble Quail
(or was it Brown Quail, I don't remember that bit). I don't recall what sex they
were but when you think about it, and that, as I told him, they have
totally opposite sex role systems, their sex is hardly relevant. Something less
likely than breeding a homosexual mare (stallion) with a
homosexual bull (cow). This was shortly after Slater V1 (non passerines
field guide) came out and I happened to have it with me. So I could
identify the actual species and confirm the problem. He was a little annoyed at
being corrected and then rather embarrassed about having spent so much time,
money and effort on them and having such high hopes with no chance of
success.
Philip
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