Turnicidae

Given the remarkable similarity of the bustard quails/button quails to the true quails, it is not surprising that both types of bird are customarily called by the same name in all three languages. The main point of interest is how ornithologists have decided to officially differentiate them. As in English, Chinese and Japanese add a qualifier in front of the word for 'quail'. The real surprise is Vietnamese.

Chinese: The button quails are known as 三趾鹑 sān-zhǐ-chún ('three-toed quails'). An alternative name is 水鹌鹑 shuǐ ān-chun ('water quail').

Japanese: The button quails are known as ミフウズラ mi-fu uzura ('three-striped quails'), written 三斑鶉 in Chinese characters. As they are largely tropical birds, only one species occurs in the far south of Japan.

Vietnamese: The Vietnamese word for 'quail' is Cun cút or (Chim) cút. The button quails have been assigned this general term instead of the quails themselves. The true quails have been given a new name: Cay, origins unclear but possibly from the French 'caille' and seldom listed in ordinary dictionaries.

The distribution of Turnicidae in East Asia can be found at Tzung-Su Ding's Distribution of TURNICIFORMES in East Asia.