The deceptive quail: why these small, plump birds are not what they seem

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Old World quail are not a single, unified group, but a collection of unrelated species sharing a name. While they resemble their New World counterparts, they belong to entirely different families. Even more surprising, some birds commonly called quail are actually closer relatives to shorebirds than to their namesake.

The term Old World quail is a collective label for various genera within the tribe Coturnicini. These birds are small, plump, and terrestrial, known for their ability to perform rapid, short bursts of flight. Despite their shared classification in the subfamily Phasianinae, they are paraphyletic, meaning they do not share a single common ancestor that excludes other related genera like Alectoris or Tetraogallus. This biological complexity is further muddied by the buttonquails, or hemipodes, which are often mistaken for true quail but belong to the order Charadriiformes, placing them in the same category as shorebirds.

These birds are primarily seed eaters, though they supplement their diet with insects and other small prey. They nest directly on the ground, a behavior that leaves them vulnerable but suited to their terrestrial lifestyle. While many are sedentary, species like the common and Japanese quail are notable for their endurance, capable of flying long distances during migration. This migratory behavior introduces a strange, dangerous phenomenon known as coturnism. When migrating common quail consume certain poisonous seeds, they store the toxins in their body fat without suffering ill effects themselves. Humans who consume these birds can subsequently suffer from poisoning.

Beyond their natural history, these birds have significant human utility. The Japanese, or coturnix, quail and the common quail are farmed extensively for both meat and egg production. They are also popular in hunting circles, where they are frequently stocked on game farms to bolster wild populations. The group includes a variety of species, ranging from the Painted bush quail and the Manipur bush quail to the critically endangered or extinct Himalayan quail. Sadly, the list of these birds also includes extinct species like the New Zealand quail and the fossilized Canary Islands quail, highlighting the fragility of these small, ground-dwelling populations across the globe.

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