Coturnix Varieties
A&M Texans/A&M Whites
These pure white quail were developed at A&M Texas University to be an all-white meat bird for restaurants. They have become extremely popular and are nearly as common as the regular brown Coturnix. To avoid a lethal gene associated with albanism, A&M Whites should have a spot or two of color on the head. At times there are spots on the back and wings, which are undesireable (the color can leave spots on the skin that some people don't like). There have been a few reports of "pied" quail, or quail that are white with brown patches, these are more than likely A&M Whites with excessive spotting or an A&M White crossed with another variety of Coturnix.
Gender cannot be determined by color with these quail and vent sexing is the best way to know what you have. Females are generally a little larger than males, but going by size runs the risk of keeping a runt female as a male.
A&M White chicks are pure yellow with one or two dark spots on them. These dark spots will stay with them into adulthood.
Brown/Standard/Wild
The most common color of Coturnix is called brown, standard or wild depending on with whom you are speaking. All other colors of Coturnix are a mutation of the brown by lightening or darkening the existing pattern. Of all the colors, the brown is the easiest to sex by sight.
Brown chicks are dark in color with two golden stripes running down their back and three golden stripes on the face like some sort of bizzare black and gold skunk. The color is extremely similar to Ringneck Pheasant chicks.
Gold/Manchurian Gold
Gold is a lighter mutation of the brown coloring, causing the quail to be a milky fawn color where the brown would have been. The black spots remain, and the color can still be sexed by the breast feathers (all orange are males, creamy with black speckles are females).
The chicks are a pale fawn color with thin dark stripes. They will not have any blotches on them like the A&M Whites and should be more tan or fawn than yellow.
Tibetan
Tibetans are a dark mutation of brown and are almost black in color. There are two types of Tibetans: single diluted and double diluted. Single diluted are a dark rust color and only have a single "dose" of darker coloring to the feathers. Double diluted most commonly occurs when two Tibetans are crossed together, resulting in a much darker quail.
A Tibetan's gender cannot be determined by its color, so vent sexing is recommended when selecting your breeders.
Chicks are a rust or near-black color depending on whether they are single or double diluted. There should not be any yellow patches around the throat or chest area.
Tuxedo
These quail are almost identical to the Tibetans, with their only difference being a white patch around the face, throat and chest area. A nicely marked Tuxedo will have an even line of white down the throat that connects with a symmetrical white bib on the chest. As with the Tibetans, Tuxedos can be single or double diluted, affecting how dark the quail ends up being.
Tuxedo chicks are dark in color with yellow markings around the face, throat and chest. These markings will stay with the quail when it is mature, allowing you to select the best markings in the brooder to choose breeders from at a later time.