The normal stages of development for the California valley quail

by Shelby M. Perry, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna

One challenge in avian embryology is establishing a standard developmental timetable, primarily because eggs incubated for identical durations can vary in developmental progress, even within the same species. For remedy, avian development is classified into distinct stages based on the formation of key morphological structures. Developmental stages exist for a few galliform species, but the literature is lacking a description of normal stages for California valley quail (Callipepla californica). Thus, the objective of this study was to stage and document the morphological and structural development of California valley quail. Over two laying seasons, 390 eggs were incubated at 37.8֯ C in 60% RH for ≤23 days. Eggs were opened every ≤6 hours to document embryonic development, including, blastoderm diameter, anterior angle of nostril to beak tip, and lengths of wing, tarsus, third toe, total beak, total foot, and embryo. California valley quail embryos were staged and compared to domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), the staging standard for galliformes, as well as Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), blue-breasted quail (Synoicus chinensis) and northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). This study produced the first description of the 43 normal stages of development for California valley quail. Compared with other galliformes, the California valley quail has a different number of stages and displays developmental heterochrony in stages 1–24, and morphological and developmental differences in stages 25–hatch. The observed differences emphasize the importance of staging individual avian species instead of relying on poultry animal models or close relatives for developmental reference. This is extremely important in species-specific embryological studies that evaluate critical windows of development or evaluate the impacts of environmental change on avian development. This study also suggests that staging frequencies of ≤6 hours and egg transport protocols should be standardized for future staging studies.