over recent years has seen an increase in its propagation in the United States and Europe. However, most of this increase is with hobbyists. It is declining in parts of its range such as Ireland. In 1537, Queen Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, then pregnant with the future King Edward VI, developed an insatiable craving for quail, and courtiers and diplomats abroad were ordered to find sufficient supplies for the Queen. Poisoning If common quails have eaten certain plants, although which plant is still in debate, the meat from quail can be poisonous, with one in four who consume poisonous flesh becoming ill with coturnism, which is characterized by muscle soreness, and which may lead to kidney failure. In culture In the Bible, the Book of Numbers chapter 11 describes a story of a huge mass of quails that were blown by a wind and were taken as meat by the Israelites in the wilderness. Gallery See also Quails in cookery References Sources External links Common quail species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Common quail photos at Oiseaux Identification guide (PDF; 3.4 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze common quail common quail Birds of Eurasia Birds of Africa common quail common quail Toxic birds Animals in the Bible