Tag Archives: Quail

Bible Birds – Quail Introduction

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King Quail (Excalfactoria chinensis) Asian Blue by Kent Nickel

King Quail (Excalfactoria chinensis) Asian Blue by Kent Nickel

The Quail is a bird that is mentioned in the Bible in four verses. All the verses tell about the time when the Israelites, in the desert, complained about missing the things that they ate back in Egypt. The LORD was tired of the complaining and sent them some Quail to eat.

Now, are we supposed to complain or grumble about things not going our way? No! Sometimes we do it anyway and the results aren’t what we expected. This is what happened to the Israelites.

“And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high [almost 3 feet high] upon the face of the earth. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.” (Numbers 11:31-32 KJV)

Have you ever eaten something, and then kept eating more, and then more? You should have stopped after the first part, right? This is what they did, sort of. The LORD gave them food, but they ate too much. Have you ever eaten too much and then became sick?

These people became sick and many of them died. It is sin that caused these Israelite to complain and not trust the Lord to take care of their needs. No, you are not going to get sick every time you complain, but you will make your parents and the Lord unhappy. Learn to obey your parents. “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20 KJV)

Brown Quail(Coturnixypsilphora) by Ian

What is a Quail?

The Quail are in several families and are mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New World quail are placed in the family Odontophoridae. Below are just two of the quail from each family.

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. In 2007, 40 million quail were produced in the U.S.

The Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora), also an Old World quail and known as the swamp quail, silver quail and Tasmanian quail, is an Australasian true quail of the family Phasianidae. It is a small, ground-dwelling bird and is native to mainland Australia, Tasmania and Papua New Guinea and has been introduced to New Zealand and Fiji. Widespread and common throughout its large range

Gambel’s Quail (Callipepla gambelii) by Kent Nickel

The New World Quail Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahua and the Colorado River region of Baja California. The Gambel’s quail is named in honor of William Gambel, a 19th-century naturalist and explorer of the Southwestern United States. Favorites of mine because of their top feather.]

California Quail (Callipepla californica) ©WikiC

The California quail (Callipepla californica), also known as the California valley quail or valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks. Males have a dark brown cap and a black face with a brown back, a grey-blue chest and a light brown belly. Females and immature birds are mainly grey-brown with a light-colored belly. Their closest relative is Gambel’s quail which has a more southerly distribution and, a longer crest at 2.5 in (6.4 cm), a brighter head and a scalier appearance.

The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey or bevy.

Watch for more Bible Birds – Quail posts.

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