The king quail (Coturnix chinensis), also known as the button quail, Chinese painted quail, Chung-Chi, Asian blue quail or blue-breasted quail, is in the same family as the pheasants Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. These birds all have a distinctly larger breast-bone than other birds with more muscle surrounding the area. This is why they are hunted for their meat.
This species is the smallest "true quail" and is quite common in aviculture worldwide. In the wild they range from southeastern Asia to Oceania with 10 different subspecies.
A failed attempt was made to introduce this species to New Zealand by the Otago Acclimatisation Society in the late 1890s.
