Himalayan Quail

The Himalayan quail, or mountain quail, is a medium-sized quail known from only two locations, and 12 specimens, in the western Himalaya of Uttarakhand. It was first found in the wild in 1865 by Kenneth Mackinnon, who shot a pair in November at about 1,800 m in a hollow between Budraj and Benog, behind Mussoorie; another specimen came from the eastern slopes of Sher-ka-danda near Nainital at about 2,100 m. It was last reported in 1876, and the last verifiable record was in 1876 near Mussoorie, and it is feared extinct (Wikipedia, general species account).

The red bill and legs and the white spots before and after the eye of this small dark quail make it distinctive. The male is dark grey with black streaks and a white forehead and eyebrow, while the female is brownish with dark streaks. Frank Finn suggested it was a migrant, arriving in winter, though he doubted this because of its short wings. SoIB 2023 rates it a High conservation priority, treats it as a western Himalayan endemic, and describes its range as historical (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).