Qoheleth

See Ecclesiastes. QUAIL {-ys ItCcri v)-^] silaw, in Nn 11" plur. O'l^';', w liicli implies a sing. TW^'i salwch ; dprvyo- inqrpa, cuturnix; Arab. sdwn). — A well-known ini;;ratory biid, Coturnix vulgaris, L. A few individuals remain in E^\-pt and the Holy Land throughout the j-ear. The migrators arrive in iljundance, on their way north towards the bo- binning of March, and again on their way south in Noveml)er. Some pass through without stop- ping, while others remain to breed. Their arrival 13 heralded by their peculiar call, especially early in the morning and at sunset. They migrate in vast flocks, crossing the Arab, desert, flying for the most part at night. They also cross the Mediterranean, selecting as their places of passage the narrowest portions, as that between Africa and Malta, Sicily, and the Greek islands, etc. Tliey always fly with the wind. Their bodies are so heavy in comparison with the power of their wings tliat they cannot cross very Ion" reaches of the sea. Many perish, even in the sliort pas- sage, and those which arrive safe are excessively fatigued. Quails are twice mentioned in conne.\ion with the 'Wilderness .loumevings (Ex 16" [P], Nu J 131.83 |-JE]_ cf_ i>s 10540). >rhose which supi)lied the Israelites came in spring, while on their way northwards. Tristram has shown that they would naturally follow up the Red Sea to its bifurcation, and cross at the narrowest part into the Sinaitic peninsula. A sea ^vind woiud bring them in im- mense numbers into the camp which the Israelites occupied at that time. The miracle consisted in their lieing directed to the right time and place. Q\iail8, when migrating, begin to arrive at night (Ex 16"), and are found in large numbers in the morning (Nu U"-"). Their great exhaustion on their arrival makes it ea.sy to believe all that is said in the narrative as to the numbers which the Israelites captured, and the ease with which they were taken. The (|uail belongs to the order Gallinm, family Phaxvtnifltr.. Its predominant colour is brown, shaded and mottled with nifous and grey, with edgings of black. A buir line extends down over each eye, and another down the centre of the head. Its length is J inches. Its flesh is succu- lent. It is popularly known in Syria as the/iJrrf, an onomatopoetie word, referring to the whirring of its wings as it takes to flight. See, further, Dillm.-Ryssel on Ex 16". G. E. Post.