The letter Q is one of the thinnest in the animal kingdom, and a working list of real animals that start with Q comes to roughly a dozen species. Read the species list from Zubair Khalid and you will see how lopsided the geography is. Australia, Central America, the Caribbean and the streams of the eastern United States supply most of the names.
This guide covers 13 animals that start with Q, including mammals, birds, a reptile, a frog and three reef or shoreline animals. Each entry covers where the animal lives, how it got its name and how it fits into human history. Where it applies, the entry also says whether American readers can see it close to home.
Horse lovers sometimes land on this topic looking for a Q breed. The American Quarter Horse is the closest match, and the zebra relative called the quagga is extinct. If you want the deep history of ancient horse breeds, including the wild Przewalski’s horse of the Central Asian steppe, start with our guide to horse breeds that start with B. Claims about the oldest horse breed in the world vary from source to source, so treat any single “oldest” label with caution.
1. Quail
Few Q animals are as familiar to Americans as the quail. Quail are small game birds spread across several genera and around 45 species. They live on six continents, according to Wildlife Nomads, which makes them the most widespread bird on this list.
In the United States, two species stand out. The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) whistles its own name from fence rows across the Southeast and Midwest. The California quail (Callipepla californica) wears a teardrop-shaped head plume and is California’s state bird.
Quail have a long history with people. Hunters have pursued them for centuries, and farmers raise them for eggs and meat. Bobwhite numbers have fallen across much of the East as farmland and grassy habitat changed, so wildlife agencies in several states now manage habitat for them.
Birders who enjoy short, punchy bird names can browse more in our list of bird names that start with K.
2. Quetzal
No other animals that start with Q carry as much cultural weight as the quetzal. The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) lives in the cloud forests of southern Mexico and Central America. The male trails emerald tail plumes that can be several times longer than his body.
The Maya and Aztec peoples treated quetzal feathers as more valuable than gold. The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered serpent,” took his name from the bird. Paleontologists later borrowed that name for Quetzalcoatlus, the giant extinct pterosaur. Guatemala made the bird its national symbol and named its currency, the quetzal, after it.
Travelers who want to see one face a real trip. Quetzals require travel to cloud forest in Mexico or Central America and are best seen during the breeding season, when males display near nest cavities.
A close relative sometimes reaches the US border. The eared quetzal (Euptilotis neoxenus) is a trogon rated Least Concern by the IUCN, according to Wikipedia. For another jewel-toned bird name, see our list of bird names that start with Z.
3. Quokka
The quokka (Setonix brachyurus) is the poster animal for Q. It is a medium-sized wallaby native to the shrublands, woodlands and wetlands of Western Australia’s southwestern coast. Males measure 40 to 54 cm (15.7 to 21.3 inches) and weigh roughly 6 to 10 pounds, according to Britannica.
Its history starts with a mistake. Dutch explorers in the late 1600s thought the quokkas were rats and named the island Rotte Nest, meaning “rat’s nest.” That island, Rottnest, is still the best place to see the animals.
Social media turned the quokka into a celebrity. Its relaxed, upturned mouth looks like a smile, and visitors line up for the “quokka selfie.” Behind the grin, the species is in trouble. The IUCN has listed the quokka as vulnerable since 1996. Feral pigs, cats and foxes on the mainland have driven declines.
Pro Tip: Americans planning a trip to Perth and Rottnest Island should look but not touch. Handling quokkas is illegal, and wild animals that get fed human food often get sick.
Quokkas also have a quiet cousin in the wallaby family. Our list of animals that start with W covers the wallaby itself.
4. Queen Snake
The queen snake (Regina septemvittata) is the Q animal most likely to live in an American neighborhood stream. North America supplies the queen snake, and it ranges through the eastern states from the Great Lakes region toward the Gulf Coast. It is slim, olive-brown, and marked with a pale stripe along the lower sides.
This snake eats almost nothing but crayfish, and it prefers those that have just molted and gone soft. That diet ties it to clean, rocky streams with plenty of crayfish. Biologists often treat a healthy queen snake population as a sign of good water quality. Pollution that wipes out crayfish wipes out the snake.
Queen snakes are nonvenomous and shy. People often mistake them for water snakes and kill them by accident. If you find a slim snake basking on a streamside branch in the East, leave it alone. For more reptiles, see our guide to animals that start with S.
5. Quelea
The red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea) is a small sparrow-sized weaver finch. It is among the most abundant wild birds on Earth. It lives in sub-Saharan Africa. Its flocks can reach into the millions and move across the sky like smoke.
That abundance made the quelea a long-running problem for African farmers. A single flock can strip a field of grain in a short time, and governments have organized control programs against them for generations. The bird has been called a “feathered locust” for that reason.
Quelea are also a reminder that a bird can be both common and troublesome. Most species on a Q list are rare or threatened. The quelea thrives because people planted vast fields of cereal grains that match its natural diet of wild grass seed.
Key Insight: The quelea and the quokka show the two sides of human land use. Farming helped the quelea explode in number, while habitat loss and introduced predators pushed the quokka toward the vulnerable list.
6. Quoll
Quolls are carnivorous marsupials with spotted coats and sharp teeth. Six species exist across Australia and New Guinea, four of them in Australia alone. Early settlers called them “native cats” because they hunt at night and look somewhat feline. The word “quoll” itself comes from an Aboriginal Australian language.
The largest is the tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus). It is the world’s second-largest living carnivorous marsupial, behind the Tasmanian devil. Our guide to animals that start with T covers that devil.
Quolls have also paid a price for the cane toad invasion in northern Australia. Northern quolls eat the toxic toads and die, which pushed some populations into steep decline. Conservationists have since tried “toad-smart” training that teaches quolls to avoid them.
| Quoll | Home Range | IUCN Status | Notable Fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger Quoll | Australia | Near Threatened | Males weigh about 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) |
| New Guinean Quoll | New Guinea | Near Threatened | Second-largest surviving marsupial carnivore of New Guinea |
The table draws on Wikipedia’s tiger quoll entry. The New Guinean quoll (Dasyurus albopunctatus) is also Near Threatened and ranks as the second-largest surviving marsupial carnivore of New Guinea.
7. Quaker Parrot
The Quaker parrot (Myiopsitta monachus) is a small green parrot with a gray chest. It is native to South America, and it also goes by the name monk parakeet. People commonly say the “Quaker” name comes from its habit of bobbing and shivering when excited.
Unlike most parrots, this species builds its own nest out of sticks. Pairs join their chambers into a large communal apartment structure. That habit helped the birds survive in cold places where other parrots cannot.
Americans met Quaker parrots through the pet trade. Imported birds escaped or were released, and feral colonies took hold in cities such as Chicago and New York and in parts of Florida and Texas. The birds often nest on utility poles, which has caused friction with power companies.
Several states restrict or ban owning them as pets. Anyone thinking of buying one should check state and local rules first.
8. Qinling Panda
The Qinling panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) is a subspecies of the giant panda. It was not recognized until 2005, and it has dark and light brown fur instead of black and white. The color difference looks like a different animal, but genetics and skull shape place it within the giant panda species.
The Qinling panda is found only in the Qinling Mountains of China. That isolation, reported by Fact Animal, explains both its rarity and its late discovery. The mountains separate it from the giant pandas of Sichuan.
Population counts for this subspecies vary by source and survey year. Readers who need an exact number should check recent reports from Chinese conservation authorities. For more bears and bamboo eaters, see our list of animals that start with P.
9. Quinkan Rock Monitor
The Quinkan rock monitor is a monitor lizard that appears in reptile lists of animals that start with Q. One such list names the queen snake and the Quinkan rock monitor as the reptiles that start with Q. Its name points to Quinkan country on Australia’s Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
That region is famous for rock art galleries near the town of Laura. Quinkan is the name given to spirit figures painted on the sandstone shelters there. The same name was borrowed for Quinkana, a prehistoric crocodile whose fossils came from the same part of Australia.
Rock monitors live in the stony outcrops and escarpments of northern Australia. They shelter in crevices, hunt small animals and run fast over loose rock. Like other monitors, they use a long, forked tongue to track scent.
Important Note: Reliable detail on this animal is thin compared with the quokka or quoll. Field guides and checklists use different names for northern Australian rock monitors, so confirm any species-level facts with a current Australian museum or government source.
10. Queensland Rocket Frog
Rocket frogs earn their name by launching themselves in long, low leaps when startled. They belong to the large Australian genus Litoria, and the striped rocket frog (Litoria nasuta) is the best known. It lives in the wet and dry tropics of northern Australia, including Queensland.
Unlike the green tree frogs that dominate this genus, rocket frogs live on the ground. They have slim bodies, pointed snouts and long hind legs built for sprinting. They often sit at the edges of ponds, creeks and flooded grass.
Amphibians starting with Q are rare. Some frogs on Q lists are named after regions, and “Queensland” is the region here. Field guides use “rocket frog” for more than one species, so the common name is a loose label. A frog from a Queensland roadside pond may be a different species from the one a book calls a rocket frog.
For American readers, the closest comparison is the leopard frog, another fast, ground-dwelling jumper. Our list of animals that start with R picks up the next letter, including real rockets of the animal world.
11. Queen Angelfish
The queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) is a staple of Florida snorkeling trips. It ranges from Florida to Brazil, including the Caribbean. Queen angelfish are common on Caribbean reefs and easy to see while snorkeling or diving.
The fish is bright blue and yellow, with a dark spot ringed in electric blue on its forehead. Divers often compare the marking to a crown, which probably explains the “queen” in the name. Young queen angelfish are darker and work as “cleaners” that pick parasites off larger fish.
Angelfish eat sponges, and few other reef fish can digest them. That diet leaves them with the job of keeping sponge growth in check on reefs. Because the fish are beautiful, they have also been collected for the aquarium trade, which is one reason local rules matter on Florida reefs.
- Best American viewing: Florida Keys reefs, including snorkel sites around Key Largo.
- Typical sighting depth: shallow reef flats down to deeper walls.
- Look for the blue-ringed forehead spot and yellow-edged tail.
12. Queen Triggerfish
The queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) lives in the western Atlantic, including the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico. Anglers and divers also call it the “old wife.” The fish is a deep blue-green with violet lines on the face and a rounded, lunar-shaped tail.
The name “trigger” comes from a locking spine on the back. The fish raises the first dorsal spine and wedges itself into a crack in the reef. A second, smaller spine acts as a “trigger” that unlocks the first one. A predator cannot pull the fish out of its hiding place.
Queen triggerfish eat spiny urchins, crabs and mollusks, using strong, rodent-like front teeth. They are known to blow jets of water to flip urchins over and expose their softer undersides. Divers sometimes hear them grunt and drum when they are stressed.
Both the queen triggerfish and the queen angelfish rely on healthy coral. Reef scientists in Florida watch both fish as a way to track how the reefs are doing.
13. Queen Conch
The queen conch (Aliger gigas) is a large sea snail of the Caribbean and Florida Keys. Its heavy shell ends in a flared, pink lip. Taíno and other Caribbean peoples ate the meat and made tools and trumpets from the shell long before European contact.
Overharvesting has been the conch’s story ever since. Demand for the meat and the shell pulled populations down across the Caribbean. Florida closed its conch harvest decades ago, and international trade is now regulated under the CITES treaty.
Key West even adopted the animal as an identity. The island’s “Conch Republic” nickname dates to a 1982 tongue-in-cheek protest over a roadblock. Locals still call themselves Conchs, even though the live animal is protected.
Our list of animals that start with O covers other sea creatures. Quokkas, quolls, quetzals and the rest show that a letter with few animals can still tell stories across continents and centuries. The table below shows where each animal in this guide is easiest for Americans to see.
| Animal | Easiest Place to See It | From the US |
|---|---|---|
| Quail | Fields, brushland and suburban edges | Nationwide |
| Queen Snake | Clean eastern streams | Eastern states |
| Quaker Parrot | Feral colonies in cities | Chicago, New York, Florida, Texas |
| Queen Angelfish | Coral reefs | Florida Keys |
| Queen Triggerfish | Coral reefs and ledges | Florida Keys and Gulf of Mexico |
| Queen Conch | Seagrass beds (protected) | Florida Keys |
| Quokka | Rottnest Island | Trip to Western Australia |
| Quetzal | Cloud forest | Trip to Mexico or Central America |