What Is A Group Of Quails Called? Nature’s Flocking Secrets

Quails are a popular gamebird that live in communal groups called coveys. A covey typically consists of 12-16 quails that forage, roost, and travel together. Read on to learn more about the social structure and group terminology for these common ground-dwelling birds.

What Is A Group Of Quail Called?

The collective noun for a group of quail is a “covey.” A covey is the name for a flock of quails that live and move together.

Quails are highly social birds that live communally in coveys rather than solitary. A covey provides safety in numbers and allows the quails to work together to find food, detect predators, and raise young.

While covey is the most common term, a group of quail may also be called a “bevy“, “flock“, or “colony” of quail.

What Do You Call A Group Of Quail?

In addition to a covey, bevy, flock or colony, some other terms for groups of quail include:

Read Also:

10 Interesting Facts About Zebras: Nature’s Wild Stripes

• A “plump” of quail
• A “flight” of quails in flight together
• A “brood” of quail chicks with their mother

So in summary, the most common groups for quail are:

• Covey – general name for a group of quail
• Bevy – alternate name for a group of quail
• Flock – when quail are flying together
• Brood – mother quail with chicks
• Plump – more poetic term for a group
• Colony – all quails sharing a colony site

What Is The Collective Noun For Quail?

The collective noun used for a group of quail is a “covey.” This term refers to the communal groups that quails naturally form in the wild.

A covey is the proper name for a group of:

• Bobwhite quail
• Gambel’s quail
• California quail
• Scaled quail
• Mountain quail
• Other American quail species

“Covey” can refer to a group of quail at rest or in flight together. It describes the communal structure of multiple quails living, foraging, nesting, and migrating together in a shared group.

Other collective nouns like bevy, plump, flock, brood, and colony are sometimes used, but “covey” is the most common collective noun for these ground-dwelling gamebirds.

Do Quails Live In Groups?

Yes, quails are highly social birds that live together communally in coveys rather than solitary. A covey provides safety in numbers and communal benefits.

In a covey, multiple quail families join together to form a larger social group. A covey may contain:

• Multiple breeding pairs
• Juveniles from previous breeding seasons
• New hatchlings and chicks

Living in a covey allows:

• More eyes to watch for predators
• Group foraging for food
• Shared work of nesting and rearing young
• Social companionship

Quails are ground-dwelling gamebirds, so covey groups help detect threats and minimize predation from above. They roost, feed, travel, and dust bathe together in their coveys.

Are Quails Social Birds?

Yes, quails are highly social birds rather than solitary. In the wild, quails live together in communal groups called coveys that contain multiple breeding pairs and generations.

Benefits of being social for quails include:

• Safety in numbers from predators
• Communal nesting and rearing of young
• Group foraging that improves feeding efficiency
• Social contact and bonds between quail families
• Cooperative predator detection

Within a covey, quails develop a social hierarchy or “pecking order.” There are social behaviors like vocalizations, dust bathing, and threat displays that help maintain their group structure.

Even domestic and farmed quail demonstrate social tendencies and prefer living in groups. Overall, quails are social rather than solitary birds in most environments.

How Many Quails Are In A Covey?

A typical quail covey contains 12-16 birds on average, although covey sizes can vary:

• In good habitat with plentiful resources, coveys may be 20 birds or more
• In poorer habitat, coveys are smaller at 8-12 birds
• Larger coveys split into smaller subgroups while foraging

The optimal covey size balances safety in numbers with food availability. Larger coveys offer more predator detection, while smaller ones reduce feeding competition.

Most coveys contain extended family groups consisting of:

• Multiple mating pairs of adults
• Juveniles from previous seasons
• New hatchlings and chicks

The communal covey structure allows quails to successfully nest, rear young, migrate, and survive winter together in shared social groups.

What Kind Of Groups Do Quails Live In?

Quails live together in communal social groups called “coveys.” A covey provides safety, communal nesting and rearing, and social benefits for the quails.

Characteristics of quail covey groups:

• Contains ~12-16 quails on average
• Led by dominant breeding pair
• Made up of multiple mated pairs, juveniles, & chicks
• Roost, feed, travel, and dust bathe together
• Group nesting, brooding, and rearing of young
• Hierarchical social structure or “pecking order”
• Vocalizations & displays maintain structure
• Forage, migrate, & survive winter together

Covey groups allow quails to efficiently find food, detect predators, and raise offspring together. These communal groups are key to quail behavior and survival.

What Is A Large Group Of Quail Called?

The common terms used for large groups of quail include:

• A “covey” generally refers to a group of 12-16 quails
• A “plump” is a more artistic term for a large quail group
• A “flock” refers to a large airborne group of flying quails
• A “colony” describes many quails sharing a colony site
• An “army” is an occasional term for a very large quail group

While a typical covey numbers 12-16, in prime habitat with abundant resources, covey sizes can swell to 20 birds or more. These exceptionally large quail groups are sometimes called plumps, flocks, colonies, or even armies.

Despite the name, a large quail group maintains the communal covey structure of shared nesting, rearing, roosting, foraging, and migrating together in a structured social group.

What Are Baby Quails Called?

Baby quails are referred to as “chicks” or “hatchlings.” Other names include:

• Downy young – for the soft down feathers
• Cheepers – for their squeaking calls
• Peepers – also refers to their vocalizations

Newly hatched quails are covered in dense, fluffy down. Their bodies are patterned for camouflage while they mature and grow flight feathers.

Young quails are called “fledglings” once they develop longer wing and tail feathers for flight. They will forage and fly short distances with the covey as they mature.

Until mature, the quail chicks stay close to their mothers and she broods and protects them. The mother hen and chicks are together called a “brood.”

Final Thoughts

In summary, the proper collective noun for a group of quail is called a “covey.” Quails are highly social ground-dwelling birds that live, travel, and rear young together in communal covey groups for safety and communal benefits. Bevy, flock, plump, colony, and brood are other terms used to describe quail groupings. Understanding the group terminology provides insight into the communal behavior that allows quails to thrive.

Adreena Shanum

Welcome. I’m Adreena Shanum, the proud owner of this website, and I am incredibly passionate about animals, especially poultry. I founded adreenapets.com as a labor of love, stemming from my desire to share my knowledge and experiences with poultry enthusiasts worldwide.