Quail are plump, shortnecked game birds whose natural habitat includes large areas of North America, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. They also inhabit South America and Australia to a lesser extent. Some species have been domesticated and raised on farms for their meat and eggs, while populations in certain locations often hunt wild quail. Quail birds spend most of their time on the ground as their squat bodies often make it difficult for them to stay in flight for long distances. Birders can readily identify any species by the plumes on their heads, which are a collection of small feathers.
Quail birds move surprisingly fast in the underbrush and can run up to 12 mph when startled.
The short flights that these birds take when startled are called “flushing.”
Adult quail birds like to take dust baths by burrowing two to three inches deep into loose soil and then wriggling around, flapping their wings
Although they are much different in size, quail belong to the same family of game birds as pheasants.
Quail birds are easily identified by their vocalizations, which often sound like human words such as ‘Chicago’ or ‘Bob White’, which lends its name to a quail species in the southeastern United States.