Quails are interesting and have strange properties. Although there may be large differences between species, some of the interesting features are shared between most species.
Quail can be found in both the Old World and the New World. They are members of high mountains or Galliformes, but they are smaller than most other mountain birds. Some species are quite beautiful, such as California quail (callipepla californica), while others are less colorful, such as Northern quail (Colinus virginianus).
Many have been transplanted to areas where they are not native and naturalized in areas where they have been introduced. The quail is primarily a seed eater, but it also captures some invertebrates such as worms and insects. They also tend to be social birds, often in groups or groups of a dozen or more.
One of the strangest things about quail is its breeding. They are nesting birds and even though they can fly, they are more likely to be protected from danger and rely on protective color to protect them from enemies.
Eggs also have a protective coloring. This part is not uncommon and it is not surprising that a quail hen in a typical brood can lay a dozen eggs. What is unusual, however, is that after egg-laying, the eggs are incubated and an egg is placed daily until the mating is complete.
Eggs hatch 2 to 4 weeks after the last laying, depending on species and conditions. The surprising thing is that all eggs hatch in a few hours and often in an hour. This means that an egg is laid more than a week before the hatching of the last egg almost at the same time as the last egg.
Some biologists have tried to understand how it was possible for all eggs to hatch in a few hours. It was finally discovered that the development of embryos in older eggs reached a certain point of development and then began to produce a very fast but low rattling noise.
Obviously, the noise makes the chicks of old eggs slow down their development, while the chicks of new eggs accelerate their development. This has been shown because, if the older eggs do not touch or almost touch the newer eggs, for the click to sit or feel, the newer eggs will evolve at normal speed. The result would be that the eggs hatch over a week or more, instead of all at the same time.
It is not known yet how the click affects the speed of development. It has also been discovered that some other wild mountain bird species coincide with breeding times in the same way.
However, it is interesting and curious that quail have found a way to ensure that all chicks hatch at the same time, increasing their chances of survival. How everyone has developed this method. In addition, it is also a mystery how the click slows the development of some eggs while increasing the speed of other eggs. Maybe one day we will be closer to answering these questions.