How old is that quail or rooster in your hands?
Story and Illustrations by Kellie Hayden
The beautiful tawny and dusty gray-brown of a quail’s wing. The dangerous potential of a rooster’s spurs. The features that make our favorite gamebirds so charismatic also provide details into the ages of these birds. When we read the clues that feathers and spurs hold, we can make smart decisions on maintaining high-quality habitat.
Quail
Feathers take time and energy to grow — two things young birds don’t have much of when they need to quickly learn how to forage, fly and evade predators. This means the first set of feathers many birds are equipped with are not high quality, and it doesn’t take long for these feathers to become heavily worn. These ratty feathers can give us insight into how old an individual quail is.
The outer flight feathers, called the primaries, are counted inward. The outermost primary is called P10, and the innermost primary is P1. Northern bobwhites molt flight feathers starting with P1, working outwards to P10. Once P1-P8 are fully molted and replaced with adult feathers, bobwhites are considered over 150 days old. When looking at the primaries, you may see that your bird has retained one or more of their juvenile primaries. If this is the case, the innermost primaries will look sleek and strong (adult feathers), while a couple of the outermost primaries look heavily worn, dull, and may even be broken (juvenile feathers yet to be molted).
Another clue is the primary coverts. These are the small feathers that cover the shafts of primaries. In bobwhites, juvenile primary coverts have light-colored tips. They may also resemble low-quality juvenile primaries in looking heavily worn. As bobwhites molt into their adult plumage, these light-tipped coverts are replaced by uniformly colored coverts. If your quail has primary coverts with light-colored tips, that’s a giveaway your bird is a juvenile. No buffy or white tips on the coverts indicates an adult. Examining both the primaries and primary coverts will give you the best insight into your bird’s age.
Pheasants
Ring-necked pheasants molt differently than bobwhites. That means it’s more difficult to age pheasants by their plumage. You can watch out for some feather clues to determine a juvenile, such as the rare, retained, heavily worn P10, a buffy-colored wash on all the feathers, or a P1 shaft that is shorter in juveniles than in adults. (See the quail wing section on the next page to understand what P1s and P10s are!) But those characteristics can be very subtle, are difficult to evaluate in the field without clear comparisons, and may vary in reliability. The most tried-and-true method is to assess spurs.
Spurs that are lighter and dull in color, measure 10mm and under and have a blunt point, tend to belong to juveniles (birds hatched this year). Spurs that are darker and glossy in color, measure 10mm or more, and have a sharp point tend to belong to adults. There is some intersection in spur length between juveniles and adults, so checking first for the chance of retained juvenile primaries, then assessing spurs second will provide a more accurate picture.
Check both sides: When aging any bird, always look at both wings (and in the case of pheasants, both wings and both spurs). While molt can be the same on both wings, a juvenile feather may be retained in one wing and not the other. Or one spur may endure heavier wear, and look more juvenile than the other.
Why does aging birds matter? Data about the age of harvested birds can help inform land management practices. When managers have insight into the age of birds on the land they steward, they can better understand the health of breeding bird populations. This information can impact and even improve vital practices that maintain high-quality habitat, such as prescribed burns, grazing methods and seed mix selection.
And, it’s just fun to know!
Kellie Hayden is a published writer, artist and raptor banding apprentice who is passionate about grassland habitat and conservation.
This story originally appeared in the winter issue of Quail Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to read more great upland content, become a member today!
FAQs
Birds generally do not require aging.
Should you age game birds? ›
Game Birds
Pheasants, ducks and geese all benefit from aging. Aging birds significantly improves tenderness and flavor. And, it makes them much easier to pluck as the feathers loosen during the aging process. Game birds can be aged whole, with the feathers on and the guts inside.
How do you age a bird? ›
Birds are aged as the number of calendar years they have lived in, with the year they were born in as the 1st calendar year and increasing past every January 1st. Click to enlarge. It is important to know that we can often only say that a bird is in its 3rd calendar year OR older.
Why would you let a pheasant hang? ›
Leaving feathers attached prevents the bird's skin from drying out while keeping innards intact, inside the bird, and further adds to the essence of flavor as natural enzymes and oils penetrate meat during the aging process.
Why did people age pheasant? ›
The meat tasted noticeably more delicate, and the time it had to age coaxed a savory dimension in flavor that you wouldn't normally get with a freshly killed bird.
What are the hardest game birds to shoot? ›
Pheasants are the smartest, wiliest birds on this list, and educated late-season ringnecks can drive even experienced hunters to distraction, with shots then are longer, faster, and more difficult than they are during opening week. They are as hard to bring down quickly as any bird under discussion.
How long is it safe to hang pheasants? ›
I've since done experiments on old roosters and they can be successfully aged for a full week. In fact, if you get an old, wild pheasant, 3 days would be a minimum for proper aging. This of course with other game birds.
What is the average lifespan of a bird? ›
The general rule is that the smaller the bird, the shorter its lifespan. Garden or songbirds are usually quite small, giving them an average of around 2 to 5 years of mortality. Going up the size scale, we've found that the average age of hawks is 8 to 20 years, eagles 20 – 25 years, seabirds can be from 30 – 50 years.
How old is a 10 year old bird in human years? ›
The average life expectancy for a human is around 80 years. So one could say a co*ckatiel that is 10 years old is actually around 40 years old in "human years." It's true the co*ckatiel is middle-aged at that point.
How do you tell if a bird is still alive? ›
Gently check for a heartbeat or breathing, and observe the bird's eyes for a response to light. If there are no signs, the bird may be dead.
A pheasant can sometimes become aggressive if it believes you are threatening its young or approaching its nest, especially if it is trying to protect its eggs. They may also attack during the breeding season, again, especially if they are defending their young or their nests.
Why join pheasants forever? ›
To put it simply, more Pheasants Forever members equal more acres of habitat, more birds, and more public lands to hunt. Pheasants Forever is an effective and efficient organization with a solid reputation with landowners, lawmakers, and hunters alike.
What temperature should you hang a pheasant? ›
In an Australian study, test panels fed roasted pheasants found birds hung for nine days at 50 F to be more acceptable than those hung for four days at 59 F or for 18 days at 41 F. They found the birds aged for four days at 59 F were tougher than those aged for longer periods at lower temperatures.
What is the lifespan of a pheasant? ›
In captivity, ring-necked pheasants can live 11 to 18 years. In the wild, their average lifespan is 3 years.
Can humans eat pheasants? ›
It is the so-called 'wild' flavour that makes pheasant special, so heavy seasoning should not be used. Culinary experts all agree that pheasants should be hung before being eaten. Pheasant flesh has been described as tender, sublime and highly flavoured. It has something of the flavour of both poultry and venison.
Should you gut a pheasant before hanging? ›
We leave the pheasants completely intact (not plucked or gutted) and hang them by the neck to keep the blood in the carcass. This helps prevent the meat from drying out or freezing if temperatures drop dramatically. We usually leave our birds to hang for a maximum of 3 days.
Should you age wild game? ›
Dry aging meat is what many experts suggest if you want to get the most out of your wild game's tenderness and flavor. Dry aging will dehydrate your meat the most and also break down the connective tissue, leaving you with a tender and delicious harvest.
How long is grouse good in the fridge? ›
Game birds and ground meat can be kept refrigerated 1 to 2 days before cooking; game meat can be stored 3 to 5 days. After cooking, keep refrigerated up to 4 days. Raw and cooked game birds and meat can be frozen indefinitely.
What age is appropriate for Angry birds game? ›
Angry Birds Knock on Wood Game for 2-4 Players Ages 5Y+
How long after shooting a pheasant should you clean it? ›
Deciding when to take the time to pull birds from your vest and kneel down to dress comes down to several factors. I have seen some articles where they recommend doing it within 10 minutes after the bird was shot, especially in warmer weather.
