coturnix

[ kuh-tur-niks ]

/ kəˈtɜr nɪks /

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noun

any of several small true quails of the genus Coturnix, especially C. coturnix(common quail, or European quail ), a widespread game bird of Europe and North Africa, and C. japonica(Japanese quail ), breeding mostly in East and Central Asia and widely used as a laboratory animal.

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Origin of coturnix

First recorded in 1755–60; from New Latin, Latin cōturnīx, coturnīx “quail”

Words nearby coturnix

cottony, cottony-cushion scale, cottus, cotula, cotunnite, coturnix, Coty, cotyledon, cotyloid, cotylosaur, cotype

How to use coturnix in a sentence

In July the black-breasted or rain-quail (Coturnix coromandelica) is plentiful in India.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
With the first full moon of September come the grey quail (Coturnix communis).
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
"Coturnix novaezealandiae" retained as printed, but the correct spelling is "novaezelandiae" as printed in the species heading.
Extinct Birds|Walter Rothschild
The gallinaceous birds are represented by a quail, Coturnix novae zealandiae, now exterminated.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various

The quail, puyuh (coturnix); but whether a native or a bird of passage, I cannot determine.
The History of Sumatra|William Marsden