A supergene limits migration in common quails

The common quail is an abundant species in the countryside in summer and a million individuals are hunted in Spain each year. However, despite the wide popular knowledge about this species, much less is known about its ecology and behaviour than could be expected. It is a migratory bird whose populations are in continuous movement during the breeding season. But how can the darker quails be more abundant in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula?

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, involves the participation of experts José Domingo Rodríguez-Teijeiro and Irene Jiménez-Blasco, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the UB, and Manel Puigcerver, from the same Faculty.

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