quailnecropsy

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Quail Necropsy

Bobwhite Quail Facts

The bobwhite quail is a relatively small bird that is about 10 inches long. It has a mixed plumage of brown, black, white and buff making it almost invisible against the vegetation of weedy fields and edges of the woodlands. Bobwhite quail reside in pastures, abandoned fields, crop fields, grasslands, brushy areas along forest edges and shrubby meadows. The average home range size is 40 acres.

Bobwhite quail search for food in the early portion of the morning and then again in the hours before nightfall. Bobwhites feed on insects and weed seeds. The juvenile quail’s menu is 85 percent bugs while the adults’ diet is comprised of about 70 percent seeds and 30 percent insects on a year-round basis. Seeds of many plants such as ragweed and foxtail are edible and the bobwhite is highly dependent on these seeds during the fall and winter months.

During much of the year they travel in small groups known as coveys, sleeping at night in a compact circle, tails to the center. This roosting technique allows the covey to conserve heat and be ready to fly in all directions if approached by a predator. Hawks, skunks, foxes, raccoons, owls, snakes, dogs, domestic cats, and hunters are predators of quail.

In the spring, May through September, the male selects a territory in which to nest and the female is responsible for the nest building. The female will build a nest on the ground in which she lays 10-15 eggs per clutch. Incubation lasts 23-24 days. The chicks follow their parents upon hatching and fledge in 6-7 days. They can fly short distances at 10 to 14 days. Chicks survival is low – probably no more than 30 percent survive their first year. The major factors leading to the decreasing numbers of bobwhite quail are habitat loss, intensive agricultural practices, and harsh weather events.

Getting to Know Your QuailKey Questions

• Is your quail male or female?• Is it an adult or juvenile?• Is your quail a carnivore, herbivore,

or omnivore?• What external features show you this?• Do quail spend more time walking or

flying?

Is Your Quail Male or Female?

The coloration of the feathers on the head and neck of older birds is how you distinguish between the male and female birds.

Males have a distinctive white eye stripe that extends from the bill through the top of the eye to the back of the neck.

Females have buff colored feathers in place of the white feathers that are present on the male bird.

Look at your quail’s beak• Based on beak shape, what do you think your

quail eats?• Is your quail a carnivore, herbivore, or an

omnivore ?

Beak Type Bird Advantage

Long, probing Wading birds and shore birds

Probing shallow water and mud for insets

Pouch-like Pelican Holding fish

Sturdy and pointed Woodpecker Probing bark and trees for insects

Thick, curved, sharp Hawks Ability to tear meat

Stout, conical shape Bobwhite, finch, cardinal Cracking seeds

Shovel shaped Ducks Ability to sieve and filter water for plants

Beak Adaptations

Look at your quails’ feet• Based on foot structure, what does the quail

use its feet for?• How can you tell?

Feet Bird Advantage

Webbed or lobed Ducks and grebes Swimming, walking on mud

Long toes Herons Walking on mud

Claws or talons Birds of prey Grasping prey

Perching Many songbirds Sitting on branches and roosting

Scratching Quail, turkey Scratching ground for seeds

Feet Adaptations

The 3 functions of feathers

• Thermoregulation – Core body temperature is 108 degrees F

• Flight• Camouflage

Feather Structure

Is your quail an adult or juvenile?

To determine juveniles from adults you look at the primary coverts.

In adults, these feathers will normally be uniformly gray. Juvenile birds will normally have buff-colored tips on these feathers.

Juvenile Bird

Find the mass of your quail.

How tall is your quail?

Position the quail in “normal walking position

QuailAnatomy

Pull feathers from the bottom of the breast to the head, and pull feathers off one of the legs.

Then gently cut skin to expose breast muscle.

Compare muscle color of breast and leg.

LIGHT MEAT VS DARK MEATHave you ever wondered why the breast meat on your Thanksgiving turkey is light and the leg meat is dark?

Light meat does not have a good supply of blood rich in oxygen. These muscles can react quickly, but soon tire. A turkey's quick burst of flight relies on the rapid power of their "light" breast muscle although they cannot fly at great distances.

Dark meat is muscle with a greater blood supply (more myoglobin) and a supply of fat. These muscles can work steadily for a long time without tiring. The dark meat of turkey thighs tells us turkeys are good runners and walkers.

Is your quail a walker or a flier?

Eye and EarFunction: Sight and Hearing

EYE

EAR

Vision is the major sense by which birds perceive their environment.

A quail’s eyes are located on the side of the head. Does this make them a predator or prey?

Eyes in the front, I huntEyes on the side, I hide

Birds hear over a range of frequencies slightly greater than that of people. This allows them to detect, locate, and home in on a food source. Their keen sense of hearing also protects them from predators.

Uropygial GlandFunction: Oil gland used to waterproof feathers

Uropygial Gland

Keel (Sternum)Function: Provides an attachment point

Now let’s follow the path of a seed as it is consumed and digested by the quail.

Esophagus and TracheaFunction: Move food using peristalsis and air to lungs

Trachea

Esophagus

CropFunction: Food storage, allows quail to eat and run

Crop

Open Crop

Insert thumb under the breast and gently pull back to open the quail

LiverFunction: Detoxification, cleanses the blood of waste

materials, breaking down of red blood cells

HeartFunction: Blood flow, circulation

ProventriculusFunction: First stomach, soft food digestion

GizzardFunction: Muscular organ for grinding food,

Sometimes contains grit (small rocks)

Opening the gizzard

Contents of gizzard and inside view

Compared to items in crop; foods nowLook more like malt-o-meal

Inner lining of gizzard- “koilin”.Is its consistency more likesandpaper, or tissue paper? Why?

Duodenum and Small IntestineFunction: First part of small intestine breaks down

food for small intestine to absorb nutrients

Large IntestineFunction: Remove water and transport waste

Cecae – function is to provide microbial digestion of high-cellulose foods

Large Intestine

Intestinal Tract

Duodenum

Small Intestine

Large Intestine

Female quail with eggs

Clean up•Dispose of all bird parts in trash bin

•Wash and dry dissecting pan and all utensils

•Dispose of gloves in trash bin

•Fold aprons neatly

•Leave your lab table organized and cleaner then you found it

Let’s Review•How big is the bobwhite quail?

•What is the bobwhite quail’s habitat?

•How can you tell the difference in the male and female?

•What does the bobwhite quail eat?

•How many eggs does the female lay?

•Name some predators of the bobwhite quail.

•Is the bobwhite quail a predator or prey and how can you tell?

•How can you tell whether the quail is a walker or a flier?

•What is the food storage pouch called?

•What is the name of the first stomach?

•What is the name of the second stomach?

•What did the inside of the second stomach feel like and how does this aid in digestion?

The state of Texas is fortunate to have some of the best quail hunting in the habitat range of the bobwhite. Hunter-landowner relationships are important in Texas, as any quail hunter knows. The birds themselves belong to the people of the state, but most of the land on which they reside belongs to individuals. The bobwhite's potential as a game bird depends on land use practices carried out by these landowners. We must all be good stewards of the land and promote land stewardship practices in order to preserve the habitat for the bobwhite quail.

Final Thoughts for Consideration

This program funded by theTexas Wildlife Association

Foundation and the Leonard Family Foundation.

TEKS Covered

SCIENCE: 7.1AB 7.2BD 7.4AB 7.10C 7.12ABC 7.13AB

BIOLOGY: 1AB 2FGH 10AC 12B

AG: 6C 12B