African Blue Quails live in damp grassland and around wetland edges. Males are slate-blue while females are orange-buff, and a wary bird may run for cover instead of taking flight.
Adult males have slate-blue heads and underparts, with chestnut flanks striped in slate-blue. Females look very different, with orange-buff faces and flanks and dark bars across the underparts.
In Zimbabwe, African Blue Quails occur in seasonally moist grassland and shallow grassy wetlands. After exceptionally good rains, some birds remain into the dry season. They also occur in cultivated fields.
The first southern African atlas received nine records in eight map grid cells during 1987–1991, all in north-eastern Zimbabwe. This geographically widespread African species was recorded in only a small part of the atlas region.
In November 1981, following an exceptionally wet summer, up to twenty were found in a wheatfield near Chegutu. The atlas author suggested that southward expansion of wet conditions could help explain appearances in southern Africa.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
BirdLife South Africa’s 2025 regional account identifies possible links between wetland degradation and scarce South African records. It recommends recording and monitoring sightings. Rainfall-related appearances and changes in wet grassland habitat both need attention.