22/09/2020
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes.
QuailBrown quail (Coturnix ypsilophora)Scientific classificationKingdom:AnimaliaPhylum:ChordataClass:AvesOrder:GalliformesSuperfamily:Phasianoidea
Call of a male common quail (Coturnix coturnix)
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New World quail are placed in the family Odontophoridae. The species of buttonquail are named for their superficial resemblance to quail, and form the family Turnicidae in the order Charadriiformes. The king quail, an Old World quail, often is sold in the pet trade, and within this trade is commonly, though mistakenly, referred to as a "button quail". Many of the common larger species are farm-raised for table food or egg consumption, and are hunted on game farms or in the wild, where they may be released to supplement the wild population, or extend into areas outside their natural range. In 2007, 40 million quail were produced in the U.S.[1]
The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey,[2] or bevy.[3]
Quail that have fed on hemlock (e.g., during migration) may induce acute kidney injury due to accumulation of toxic substances from the hemlock in the meat; this problem is referred to as "coturnism".[5]
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Evidence Based
Quail Eggs: Nutrition, Benefits, and Precautions

Written by SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD on February 24, 2020 — Medically reviewed by Miho Hatanaka, RDN, L.D.
Nutrition
Benefits
Precautions
Comparison with chicken eggs
Uses & preparation
Bottom line
Quail eggs are rapidly gaining traction in cooking as a tiny and cute alternative to chicken eggs.
They taste remarkably like chicken eggs but are small — typically just one-third the size of a standard chicken egg. They have cream-colored shells with brown splotches and deep-yellow yolks.
For their size, they are packed with nutriments.