Harlequin quail

The harlequin quail is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Arabian Peninsula. The species is named after the collector, Adulphe Delegorgue.

Taxonomy

There are three subspecies:

C. d. arabica Bannerman, 1929 – Southwest Arabian Peninsula
C. d. delegorguei Delegorgue, 1847 – Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar
C. d. histrionica Hartlaub, 1849 – São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea

Introductions

The uncontrolled introduction of domestic Japanese quail breeds into Kenya, as well as a noticeable population size reduction of wild African harlequin quail numbers in parts of Western Kenya has been reported.