The Book of Quails: An Illustrated Story for Children

The following story was written by Brooklyn-based writer Christine Stoddard and illustrated by Sami Cronk, an artist who lives in Richmond, Virginia, for Quail Bell Magazine.

The Book of Quails

Hi, I'm Wormling and I am a worm. But if you're a quail, you might call me 'Dinner.'

Quails are my natural enemies. I'm their natural prey.

That's just a fancy way of saying they like to slurp me up. But I guess you can't blame them. I do look like spaghetti.

Have you ever seen a quail before? This is a quail. A quail is a type of bird.

Q-U-A-I-L. Say it like QWALE.

I'd write an acrostic poem about quails, except that the only word I know that begins with “Q” is “queen.” Of course, I'm only a worm. Can you think of other words that begin with “Q”?

Anyway, enough about that and back to quails. Take a good, hard look at this quail.

Say ding-dong to the quail's forehead feather. It's not actually a bell. It's not just one feather, either. It's a cluster of feathers—sort of like a chocolate-covered nut cluster, but not as yummy.

Can you say 'head plume'? You pronounce 'plume' like PLOOM. It rhymes with BOOM or ZOOM. What about 'topknot'? Say it like TOP NOT.

That's right. This quail's rocking a topknot, very much like a stylish samurai.

She's a very confident quail. Some might call her a fashionista. I call her a belle bird. Either way, she knows how to look good and she's not shy to show it.

Look at her beak. That's what she uses to eat bugs. Hmm. Yup, bugs. Like ants or crickets or, um, worms (gulp).

The best known type of quail is the California Quail. The boy quail is blue-gray, yellow, and chestnut with black and white markings on his face.

The girl quail is a plainer brown with flecks of cream. See, in the quail world, the boys are the pretty ones. (That's how it usually works with birds. Take peacocks as another example.)

The girl quail is brown because she must blend in with her surroundings, especially when it comes time to be a mommy. The girl quail will build a nest on the ground, lay her eggs, and stay put until the eggs are ready to hatch.

Meanwhile, the boy quail is a handsome thing because he has to attract the attention of girl quails.

Curious about more than how this bird looks? Get your ears ready. The California Quail's call sounds like this:

Strange because you won't find the California Quail anywhere near Illinois. Maybe she's just itching to travel. Of course, her wings are short and stubby, so she can't fly very far.

You'll mainly find the California Quail hanging out in the shrublands on the West Coast of the United States.

Bushes are her best buddies, especially since she's so easily scared. When somebody startles her, the California Quail will dash for cover. So if you're planning on getting up close and personal with a California Quail, tread lightly. Sudden movements and loud noises will get her going like nobody's business.

Another well-known type of quail is the Northern Bobwhite. Her call is very much like her name: Bob-white! She prefers to make her home in grassy fields and piney woods.

Boy Bobwhites have sort of chicken faces. Girl Bobwhite are plumper, like the California Quail. You'll note that their color schemes are not as elaborate as those of the California Quail. But see how elaborate their feather pattern is? That design's called 'mottled.'

Now, this is a covey of quails.

A covey is a group of quails, just like your family is a group or your friends at school are a group.

Can you count how many quails there are?

Don't worry. I'm not sure how many there are, either. I'm not sure why there are so many, either.

Hey, quails! What are you doing?

Hey, I asked—

WHOAH! Slow down! Stop running!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I think I'll finally meet my fate...

ON A QUAIL'S PLATE!!!

The end.