A Few Considerations Before Ordering Quail

A Few Considerations Before Ordering Quail

 The International Union for  
Conservation of Nature counts quail
as a “species of least concern.” Kill
a quail for Christ. No quandary. Kill

the bird known to eat hemlock, before
it kills you. Consider the children
of Israel, craving cucumbers, 
garlic, leeks, complaining of manna. 

And God, exceeding expectations said:
“Thou shalt eat quail for thirty days
until it comes out of your nostrils.”
In a spat of hyperactivity,

the Creator coated the ground with quail,
three feet high, and a days’ journey
in all directions, God’s children dined and died.
So, if you see more than one Montezuma, 

Spot-bellied, Black-throated, Harlequin,
Common, California, Chestnut wood,
Canary Islands or Ocellated
quail, don’t call it a bevy of quail.

Even when they're dead, they're guilty of murder.

Quail with baby quail~ Ray McGinnis

Photos by Ralph Milton