Abstract
Old World migratory quail (Coturnix) are classified by territorial range into three subspecies. The European C. coturnix coturmix, common to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, has been reported toxic while both Asian C. coturnix japonica and African C. coturnix africana subspecies have not been, heretofore, identified as poisonous. This essay examines the antiquity of coturnism or human food poisoning by migratory quail, its symptoms, contemporary distribution, and possible etiologies, and concludes with suggestions for research on this ancient, curious dietary problem.
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Grivetti, L.E. (1982). Coturnism. In: Jelliffe, E.F.P., Jelliffe, D.B. (eds) Adverse Effects of Foods. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3359-3_5
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