For one thing, it is rarely observed. This is because it peaks in early January, when temperatures drop and skies are often cloudy in the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately, even though weather conditions may be more favorable in the southern hemisphere, observers there will have very little to see. The Quadrantid meteor shower is also fairly brief. It usually only lasts a few hours.
Although the shower has been observed for many years, it wasn't until 2003 that Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center discovered the probable source of the Quadrantid meteors. 2003 EH1 is an asteroid, which was probably a piece of a comet that broke up over 500 years ago. The Earth's orbit intersects that of 2003 EH1 at a perpendicular angle, which explains the short duration of the shower.
Meteor showers take their names from the constellation from which they appear to be coming. This also holds true for the Quadrantids. However, Quadrans Muralis, the constellation which gave the shower its name was removed from the list n 1922 when the International Astronomical Union adopted the modern list of 88 officially-recognized constellations. After this "rezoning took place, the Quadrantid meteor shower now appears in the constellation Bootes, but the name was not changed to avoid confusion with the already know Bootids.