Tuxedo Coturnix Quail
The formal-wear pattern: dark top, crisp white face-bib and belly. A pattern rather than a color, so it comes in chocolate, red, and silver versions — and it never feather-sexes.
What they look like
Tuxedos wear dark color across the crown, back, and wings with a white throat, breast, and belly — the cleaner the boundary, the showier the bird. The dark portions can be Tibetan chocolate, Scarlett red, or Fee silver depending on the base, giving you 'tuxedos' in several suits.
How the genetics work
Tuxedo comes from the white-spotting family in an intermediate dose — commonly from pairing dark-based birds carrying spotting (breeding English-White-type spotting into E-family bases). Tuxedo × Tuxedo throws a range: some crisp tuxedos, some mostly-white, some mostly-dark. Perfect symmetrical bibs are the exception, not the rule.
Sexing Tuxedos
Not feather-sexable. Vent/foam-gland at 5–7 weeks.
Eggs, size & production
Standard production for the line behind the pattern; the spotting genes don't cost eggs or growth.
Who this variety is for
Anyone breeding for looks — tuxedos are the show-offs of the Coturnix world, and chasing cleaner bibs across generations is a satisfying long-term project.
Before you buy
Buy tuxedo hatching eggs expecting pattern variety in the hatch; a tray of perfect bibs isn't biologically on offer. Pick breeders whose adult photos show consistently sharp boundaries.
Keep or breed Tuxedo?
Show off your birds and compare notes in the free Quail Keeper Community — keepers post their coveys, hatch results, and honest line reviews. Joining also unlocks the Quail Keeper Max app free.
Planning a Tuxedo breeding project?
Quail Keeper Max has a built-in color genetics calculator — pick two parents and see what the hatch should throw — plus pedigree tracking, breeding pair records, and hatch-rate stats so you can actually see which pairings work. It's the tool this guide's genetics notes come from.
Try the genetics calculator free →Free plan included · No credit card required
Related varieties
A note from one keeper to another: variety names in Coturnix are not tightly standardized — different breeders' lines under the same name can differ in shade, size, and how crosses behave, and several newer varieties are still being mapped by the breeding community. Treat this guide as a working keeper's reference, buy from breeders who know their lines' genetics, and trust real hatch results over any label.