The Cinnamon or Fawn Button Quail
© 1977 Poule d'eau Publishing
The next mutation to make its appearance after the Silver Button Quail was the Cinnamon or Fawn Button Quail. We have no precise date or location of its beginning. It was present in Australia in the early 1960s and also in Europe during the 1960s. In communicating with an Australian aviculturist, I was told that there are two different fawn mutations. Both are said to be similar in appearance, but differ genetically. One is recessive while the other is sex-linked. The Fawns or Cinnamons we obtained from England and Europe are recessive. If a sex-linked mutation does exist, it would certainly be distinct from what we have. What is the confusion about Fawn and Cinnamon? In the birds we obtained through importation, we were told there were two types, those with a dull, gray-brown coloration and others which are very light, cinnamon/red-brown. We have noticed that the adults are often quite variable and there appears to be much inter-gradation between the two. Fawn and Cinnamon chicks are quite distinct from the chicks of other mutations and, furthermore, there are two different types of down color associated with the Fawn or Cinnamon Quail. We have labeled the darker birds Fawn and the lighter birds Cinnamon. While "Cinnamon" is considered by many to be more attractive than "Fawn", we are now of the opinion that these are not distinct mutations, only one highly variable mutation. We cannot yet account for the extreme color variation in the adults or the chicks only to say that there are differences. They may or may not be of a genetic basis. For simplicity I am referring to all of the combination as Cinnamon rather than Fawn. The above photos are of a pair of Cinnamon Quail, showing excellent color.
