Common Quail vs European Turtle-dove: the differences between the two species

In recent years Malta's spring hunting season – supposedly open only for Quail – was opened from mid-April till the end of the month each year, meaning that the dates were extended further towards the end of the month when compared to before.

Effectively this means that it is an open season for the hunting of European Turtle-doves since the dates clearly overlap onto the peak migration period of the vulnerable turtle-dove during the last two weeks of April.

Despite being a protected species that is recognised as vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN and currently exempt from spring hunting by a moratorium, this move in dates further towards the end of April puts migrating turtle-doves at enormous risk from illegal hunting.

This spring hunting season, we want to once again raise awareness on how to identify and report any illegal hunting. This video explains all you need to know about the very evident differences between the two bird species. It describes the very different characteristics of the Common Quail and the European Turtle-dove which are quite distinguishable and cannot really be mistaken one for the other as they vary in:

• Appearance
• Call
• Flight patterns
• Hunting methods
• Luring methods.

This video will help you recognise which of these birds is being hunted and enable you to identify any illegal hunting taking place. If you witness illegal hunting, please:

1. Contact the police (Environmental Protection Unit, EPU) on 119
2. Contact BirdLife Malta on 2134764 5/6 (office hours) & 7925 5697 (evenings and weekends)
3. Take photos/video for evidence

You can also visit www.birdlifemalta.org/information/hunting to find out more about hunting and the laws in Malta.

(Footage by BirdLife Malta and Richard Cachia-Zammit, editing by Kinga Kupska)