Instructions
Observe the head of the bird. The males have a rusty brown face and neck, while the females lack any red or rust color on their head and neck --- instead, the females have brown to gray coloring.
Look at the breast of the quail. Males also have rust coloring on the upper and sides of the breast. In female Japanese quail, this area is mostly white.
Look at the throat of the bird. Males tend to have black marks on the throat that females do not.
Compare the size of the birds. When the sexes are standing next to each other, you can see an obvious difference in size: Females are larger than males. If you have a Manchurian or tuxedo variety with fewer color differences, size may be the only way to sex your birds visually.
Take your Pharaoh quail to an avian veterinarian for a DNA test. This is done with a simple blood test and gives you the most accurate results if you are unsure of your quail's gender.
How to Tell the Difference Between Female & Male Pharaoh Quails
An older term for the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) is the Pharaoh (or Pharaoh's) quail. Their native breeding range covers much of Western China and Japan, while their wintering range covers India, Southern China and Indonesia. These quail have been domesticated since the 12th century, according to David Alderton in "The Atlas of Quails," and now exist in several varieties. Even if you have a variety of Pharaoh quail in which the plumage varies from the natural coloring of the species, you usually can sex the birds visually.