Little Button Quail - Meet Bootle and Rosemary!

02 Jul 2011, 10:46

Thanks Orix, I will put it in with them

I'll put them in when the weather fines up

bloody freezing down here now!!!

02 Jul 2011, 11:00

oh, by the way... I haven't seen any evidence that they've eaten or drunk anything since the car trip when I saw them eating.... I'm quite worried... anyone got any suggestions?

02 Jul 2011, 11:11

chuck in some live food!! quails will always go nuts for it in my experience. also not such as worry, they have many more reserves than finches so they can go for longer without eating!!

02 Jul 2011, 11:21

thanks spanna

I will chuck in the excess termite dirt which is sure to have some stuff in it

oh, I'm uploading a video to youtube now. Creepiest bird ever. I'll post the link when it's done!

02 Jul 2011, 17:39

Hi Jay, As Rosie matures (I am assuming they are still young), the patterning on the sides of the breast will eventually dissapear and become a more solid colour if she truly is a hen (size differences at this stage is a good indicator though).
Danny

p.s. I have a new found respect for you as a Gerald Durrell fan. Good lad.

02 Jul 2011, 22:50

Rosemary's creepy stare - it has the same effect as those creepiest of birds, Bush Stone Curlews *shiver*

And might I ask what is creepy about the stare of Bush Stone Curlews???????

I have them and they are the most endearing of birds.

03 Jul 2011, 00:01

Googling Bush Stone Curlews ...

Aww nothing creepy about them , they look like the Road Runner beep beep.

03 Jul 2011, 06:27

They may look a little like the Road Runner but act like Rigamortis on long legs

03 Jul 2011, 08:45

E Orix wrote:They may look a little like the Road Runner but act like Rigamortis on long legs

couldn't describe it better myself

here's a picture of what I mean:

IMG_6955.JPG

they just walk really slowly across the path, and stare at you... and then you realize you've been hypnotised for the last hour

Danny, yes I am and have been a Durrell supporter for quite some time... I have most of his books now

and read most of those I haven't found to own yet.

I think it's a real shame that no one really knows who he was, and while I like Sir David Attenborough as well (I met his son during an orchestra performance in Canberra) I think it ridiculous that David's shows get full airing time while very few people know that Durrell made many documentaries as well. Did anyone here know that Catch Me a Colobus, Menagerie Manor, and The Aye Aye and I were made into films? Obviously my family and other animals did too.

Just my 2-cents worth, anyway.

03 Jul 2011, 08:48

Danny wrote:Hi Jay, As Rosie matures (I am assuming they are still young), the patterning on the sides of the breast will eventually dissapear and become a more solid colour if she truly is a hen (size differences at this stage is a good indicator though).
Danny

Really? well that's a shame, the markings are so nice.... but I'm sure it will be interesting to watch it happen

I'm not sure what age they are, but I would hazard a guess to their being fairly young.

Tentatively introduced them into their new environment today, they are getting on well with their temporary floor-mates, my king quail and proceeded to burrow like mice into a pile of nesting grass.

Interestingly I note that the male (and to a lesser extent the hen too) drag their beak up and down the wire on the flight, as if not knowing it was there, and yet they have no such difficulties with the glass in the shelter...

They are loving the grasses planted in the various areas designed for their benefit when I was planning the aviary