Plum: a story of survival

This is Plum, our one and only King quail (Coturnix chinensis). He is tiny, compared to the Japanese quails, and very timid. He's also strikingly beautiful, and a master of survival. We call him our Ninja bird. He started life in our garden with two girls (Cinnamon and Hazelnut) however, they were quickly killed and eaten by rats. Plum, while losing a few feathers, survived. When our rat scourge was at its worst, and chicks were being killed every night, we were sure we would lose Plum - he's only slightly bigger than a Japanese quail chick - but every morning he would zip out of his patch of metre-tall grass and show us he was still alive, before rushing back in to hide. We started to imagine him toying with the rats at night, darting here, there and everywhere at top speed, pecking and scratching until the rat was too befuddled to attack.
He missed his girls, and during most of spring and into summer he called and called, a plaintive mournful single note, endlessly echoing into the air and often - surprisingly - in the middle of the night. It's a very powerful call for such a tiny bird, and we felt very sorry for him. We tried for a long time to find him more females, but sadly - and probably rightly - pet shops will only sell pairs. Finally we found a solitary girl, who the shop was very pleased to give us. Nectarine was even smaller than Plum, only just reaching maturity, and she sat quivering and terrified in her box as we drove her home. We were worried she wouldn't feel secure in our huge open garden - or with Plum - but as we opened the box she just casually strolled out, not at all fussed. It was a lovely moment, and Plum seemed very happy - they slept each night cuddled beside each other, and the lonely calling stopped. We were hopeful of eggs and chicks in due course, but then the rats came back...and Nectarine was gone. Plum, of course, survived. We really don't know how he does it.
He's older now, and doesn't call for a mate any more, but he still lurks in his grass clump, defying the rats, and occasionally hanging out with whichever Japanese quail comes in to visit. Maybe their company is enough for him. If we do find another girl - or two - we'll get them, but it's unlikely they'll have his talent for survival. He is unique.