Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds in the pheasant family Phasianidae, or in the family Odontophoridae. This article deals with the Old World species in the former family. The New World quails are not closely related, but are named for their similar appearance and behaviour.
The Old World buttonquails are also in a different family Turnicidae, and are completely unrelated to the true quails.
The quails are small, plump terrestrial birds. They are seed eaters, but will also take insects and similar small prey. They nest on the ground.
Some quail are farmed in large numbers. These include Japanese quail, also commonly known as coturnix quail, which are mostly kept to produce eggs that are sold worldwide.
Species list
Genus Coturnix
Coturnix coturnix, Common Quail
Coturnix japonica, Japanese Quail
Coturnix pectoralis, Stubble Quail
Coturnix novaezelandiae, New Zealand Quail Extinct
Coturnix coromandelica, Rain Quail
Coturnix delegorguei, Harlequin Quail
Coturnix ypsilophora, Brown Quail
Coturnix adansonii, Blue Quail
Coturnix chinensis, Blue-breasted Quail
Genus Anurophasis
Anurophasis monorthonyx, Snow Mountain Quail
Genus Perdicula
Perdicula asiatica, Jungle Bush-quail
Perdicula argoondah, Rock Bush-quail
Perdicula erythrorhyncha, Painted Bush-quail
Perdicula manipurensis, Manipur Bush-quail
Genus Ophrysia
Ophrysia superciliosa, Himalayan Quail Critically Endangered/Extinct
Copyright: Wikipedia information about Quail – This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Quail". More from Wikipedia