8-1447 June 1983 A Guide For Aging Scaled Quail The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station / Neville P. Clarke, Director Texas A&M University System / College Station, Texas COVER. Top: Adult scaled “°°' quail. Bottom: Hen and day-old ., chicks. ‘IBDI g . E 12D‘ (D m I 3 >_ BOi o o I m 40d u '3 'é'1'a'1's'2o%‘ AGE (WKS) Figure 1. Mean body weight of juvenile scaled quail from hatch to 22 weeks of age. Figure 2. Typical subadult scaled quail wing showing primary feathers 1-10 used for aging juveniles. Feathers 5 and 6 are measured in millimeters and lengths compared with measurements in Table 1. Primary covert feathers lie directly on top of the primaries; C indicates primary covert 5. A buff tip of C indicates a subadult covert feather. Figure 3. Male (left) and female scaled quail showing plumage differences on the cheek and throat. Males have yel- lowish or cream colored feathers, whereas females have buff feathers with slate colored streaks. 5M—5-83 A Guide for Aging Scaled Quail J. R. Cain and S. L. Beasom Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), also called blue quail or cotton tops, are native to the western half of Texas and Oklahoma, to southern Colorado and Arizona, and to a major portion of New Mexico and Mexico. They inhabit semiarid rangeland with moderate inter- spersion of brush and avoid dense stands of grasses. Because of the unreliable na- ture of rainfall in the region, reproductive success of quail fluctuates dramatically in the southwestern United States. Anyone concerned with quail breeding season phenology should be able to de- termine the age of the juveniles, because age estimates are used throughout the summer to calculate hatching dates. Scaled quail chicks reach about 5O percent of adult body weight by 6 weeks, and by 13 weeks they are 9O percent of mature weight (Fig. 1). However, varia- bility in body weight between individuals, in addition to yearly differences in the food supply, precludes using weight as an accurate age- indicator. Standard tech- niques for aging quail rely instead on wing feather measurements. Quail progressively molt andgrow new wing feathers, and the growth rate of their primaries is consistent. Primaries and secondaries are numbered from the body outward according to their se- quence of molt. lt is possible to determine a quail’s age by measuring the two outer- most growing primary feathers, for exam- ple 5 and 6 on the wing shown in Figure 2. Measurements (in mm) are made with a thin plastic ruler from where the feather emerges from the skin to the tip. Either wing may be used, but consistently measuring the same side reduces varia- bility. The measurements in Table 1, gen- erally accurate to within one week of age, can then be used to age scaled quail — provided you have a quail in hand. Using the photo comparisons in this bulletin, careful field observers should be able to estimate the age of juvenile quail almost as accurately, and capture is not necessary. Chicks from 1 to 12 weeks old are shown with mounted adults for size and feathering comparisons. In the fall and winter, subadult quail older than 2O weeks (either sex) can be easily distinguished from adults by ex- amining the primary covert feathers of the wing (Fig. 2). The tips of primary coverts 1 through 7 are edged with buff color in subadults, whereas they are all gray in adult birds. Scaled quail have only subtle differ- ences between sexes: male body weights average 1O percent heavier than females, and males have slightly larger topknots. The only reliable distinguishing charac- teristic is feathering dimorphism of the cheek and throat area: males have yel- lowish or cream colored feathers, where- as females have buff feathers with slate colored streaks (Fig. 3). Acknowledgement: This project was partially supported by the USDA Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. The authors appreciate the technical assistance of David Smith, Roger Lien, and James Lee. Taxidermy was courtesy of Joe T. Hibler, Kingsville, Texas. 3 1 WEEK Entirely covered with natal down; single brown stripe evi- dent on head and short, downy topknot; flight feathers 1/4—1/z" long; 23/4-3" tall; cannot fly. 2 WEEKS Spotty; long downy topknot; few scattered contour feathers; tail feathers 1/2" long and even with wing tips at rest; 31/2-33/4" tall; flies short distances. 3 WEEKS Spotty; scattered contour feath- ers; topknot 1/2 filled with con- tour feathers; tail feathers 3/4" long and extending 1/4-1/2" past wing tip at rest; first four juvenal primaries nearly grown; 33/4-4" tall; flies quite well. 4 WEEKS Juvenal contour feathers pre- dominate back and sides; downy feathers predominate belly and head; topknot mostly filled with juvenal feathers; tail feathers 11/4" long and extending 3/4-1" past wing tip; juvenal primaries nearly complete; 4-41/2" tall; flies nearly as well as adult. 5 WEEKS Almost 1/2 adult size; juvenal contour feathers streaked and predominate entire body; down predominates sides of head; gray topknot 5/8-3/4" tall and complete; brown stripe on nape of neck still clearly visible; tail feathers extend 11/4-13/4" past wing tips; juvenal primaries com- plete; 5-51/2" tall; flies as well as adult. 6 WEEKS Streaked; juvenal contours pre- dominate body and head; no brown stripe on back of head, but a buff stripe extends from eye to neck; tail feathers extend 2" past wing tips and nearly reach ground; 51/2-6" tall. 7 WEEKS About 3/4 adult size; plumage rough as postjuvenal molt be- gins; may have 1-2 adult con- tours emerging on sides of breast; topknot still gray; tail feathers extend 21/2" past wing tip; 6-61/2" tall. 8 WEEKS Distinct row of gray-blue scaled adult contour feathers on sides of breast; topknot 1/2 filled with white adult feathers; tail ragged with postjuvenal molt; 61/2-7" tall. 9 WEEKS Several rows of scaled adult con- tour feathers on sides of breast, also scattered blue contours on back; topknot approximately 3/4 adult size; center tail feathers (re- trices) short and gray, outer re- trices mottled; adult height and nearly as heavy. - l0 WEEKS About 5O percent adult contour feathers on sides and back; ju- venal feathers predominate bel- ly; scattered adult plumage among wing coverts; central 6-8 juvenal tail retrices absent or growing adult gray but appear much shorter than outer two ju- venal feathers. l 1 WEEKS Brownish juvenal feathers around eyes, otherwise gray or scaled contour feathers pre- dominate belly, neck, head, and wings; topknot 9O percent adult size; central developing tail feathers equal in length to outer two persisting juvenal feathers. 12 WEEKS Difficult to distinguish from adults by gross observation; topknot like adults; contour feathers entirely adult; scattered juvenal coverts may remain on wings; adult tail feathers at least 1" longer than remaining two juvenal feathers. 3-2. 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