Scientific name: Turnix sylvatica (Desfontaines, 1789)
Bird group: Game birds
Field characters. 15-16 cm. Small, almost tail-less Quail-like bird. Crown dark with buff median stripe; sides of head pale buff, speckled dark; dark eye-stripe. Plumage differs from Quail in orange-rufous breast and black spots on flanks. Male and female very similar but plumage of female darker and more brightly coloured; female larger. Eyes yellow, orbital skin and bill blue. Juvenile similar to adult but with more spots on chest. A secretive, elusive bird that is not easily flushed.
Voice. Female produces a very characteristic call resembling distant lowing of cattle: "croo-croo-croo-croo....", uttered mainly at dawn.
Distribution. Local and very rare or extinct in southern Spain.
Habitat. Frequents low tangled thickets of dwarf palm, stubble, and sugar-beet fields.
Food. Feeds on seeds and insects.