On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Coturnix coturnix, Fraunberg, Bayern, Deutschland 1, Ausschnitt. European quail, is a small ground-nesting game quail egg salad in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India.

It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as “least concern”. It is greatest before migration at the end of the breeding season. The female is generally slightly heavier than the male. It is streaked brown with a white eyestripe, and, in the male, a white chin. As befits its migratory nature, it has long wings, unlike the typically short-winged gamebirds.

This is a terrestrial species, feeding on seeds and insects on the ground. It is notoriously difficult to see, keeping hidden in crops, and reluctant to fly, preferring to creep away instead. Even when flushed, it keeps low and soon drops back into cover. Often the only indication of its presence is the distinctive “wet-my-lips” repetitive song of the male.

The common quail has been introduced onto the island of Mauritius on several occasions but has failed to establish itself and is now probably extinct. Males generally arrive in the breeding area before the females. In northern Europe laying begins from the middle of May, and with repeat laying can continue to the end of August. The eggs are laid at 24-hour intervals to form a clutch of between 8 and 13 eggs. These have an off-white to creamy yellow background with dark brown spots or blotches. The eggs are incubated by the female alone beginning after all the eggs are laid.

The young are precocial and shortly after hatching leave the nest and can feed themselves. They are cared for by the female who broods them while they are small. The common quail is heavily hunted as game on passage through the Mediterranean area. Very large numbers are caught in nets along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is estimated that in 2012, during the autumn migration, 3. 4 million birds were caught in northern Sinai and perhaps as many as 12.

9 million in the whole of Egypt. This species over recent years has seen an increase in its propagation in the United States and Europe. However, most of this increase is with hobbyists. It is declining in parts of its range such as Ireland. In 1537, Queen Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, then pregnant with the future King Edward VI, developed an insatiable craving for quail, and courtiers and diplomats abroad were ordered to find sufficient supplies for the Queen. If common quails have eaten certain plants, although which plant is still in debate, the meat from quail can be poisonous, with one in four who consume poisonous flesh becoming ill with coturnism, which is characterized by muscle soreness, and which may lead to kidney failure.

In the Bible, the Book of Numbers chapter 11 describes a story of a huge mass of quails that were blown by a wind and were taken as meat by the Israelites in the wilderness. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Nomenclatural consequences resulting from the rediscovery of Les figures des plantes et animaux d’usage en médecine, a rare work published by Garsault in 1764, in the zoological literature”. Check-List of Birds of the World.