09/19/2025
An Introduction to King Quail
King Quail (synoicus chinensis) are the smallest of the “true quail,” native to parts of Asia, Australia, and China. You may also see them called Blue-Breasted Quail, Chinese Painted Quail, or Asian Blue Quail. There are 10 different subspecies of King Quail.
While they are commonly referred to as “button quail,” it is important to note that the actual buttonquail (turnix) is in fact not a quail, but is an entirely separate species of bird. This misunderstanding has contributed to the confusion on if King Quail are true quail or not, and leads to a lot of incorrect information about the different species.
King Quail are, on average, 4-5 inches long and weigh 1-1.4 ounces. They have a wild lifespan of ~1.5 years, but can live up to 13 in captivity with proper care. The typical lifespan of a captive King Quail is closer to 3-6 years old, with shorter lifespans primarily being caused by improper care or poor genetic health.
They are sexually dimorphic, with males and females exhibiting different colourations. These birds are primarily monogamous, and ideally kept in pairs or trios. In a flock setting, they typically do best with 1-2 hens for every male.
Females will lay anywhere between 5-13 eggs before they begin to incubate them. They generally hatch after 16-18 days of incubation. In captivity, they typically breed year-round if there is enough daylight hours, though may stop in the winter when days are short.
It is important to note that we have bred out the instinct to brood eggs in a lot of our King Quails today as a way to maximize egg production. This means that when breeding captive birds, there is not a guarantee of your birds incubating and raising their own babies. Majority of breeders choose to incubate and raise the babies themselves because of this.
In the wild, the diet consists of small bugs, seeds, and other vegetation. In captivity, it is important we feed them a variety of vegetables, seeds, and insects with a base of a gamebird feed along with grit.
You most often see King Quail kept as aviary birds, indoor pets, or used as feeders for other carnivorous pets. They are quick, colourful, and fun to watch with the ability to become hand tame companions with some effort!
