Himalayan Quails have distinctive red bills and legs, black face and throat with white forehead. They infrequently fly and usually only when flushed. This medium-sized quail belongs to the pheasant family and is known from only two locations in India. The species was first described in 1846 by J. E. Gray from living individuals in the collection of the Earl of Derby at Knowsley Hall. It was not found in the wild until 1865, when Kenneth Mackinnon shot a pair of quails. It was last seen only about a decade later.