king quail

[ king kweyl ]

noun

1. a brightly colored true quail, Coturnix chinensis (or Excalfactoria chinensis ) of southern Asia and Australia, the smallest of the true quails, widely kept as a cage bird: the king quail is sometimes referred to as a button quail, but the button quails are very distant relatives and are not true quails.

Word History and Origins

Origin of king quail¹

First recorded in 1840–45

Example Sentences

Of Australian quail there are at least a dozen varieties, ranging from a small partridge down to the little king quail.

From Project Gutenberg