Quails in Easton's Bible Dictionary
The Israelites were twice relieved in their privation by a
miraculous supply of quails, (1) in the wilderness
of Sin (Ex.
16:13), and (2) again at Kibroth-hattaavah (q.v.),
Num. 11:31.
God "rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered
fowls like as
the sand of the sea" (Ps. 78:27). The words in Num.
11:31,
according to the Authorized Version, appear to
denote that the
quails lay one above another to the thickness of two
cubits
above the ground. The Revised Version, however,
reads, "about
two cubits above the face of the earth", i.e., the
quails flew
at this height, and were easily killed or caught by
the hand.
Being thus secured in vast numbers by the people,
they "spread
them all abroad" (11:32) in order to salt and dry
them.
These birds (the Coturnix vulgaris of naturalists)
are found
in countless numbers on the shores of the
Mediterranean, and
their annual migration is an event causing great
excitement.
Read More about Quails in Easton's Bible Dictionary