When you have wings that work but run away from danger there’s something wrong with you.
Quail can fly, but it isn’t easy for them. They’re just not very aerodynamic. Smaller wings, plump bodies… not a great mix. They therefore tend to stay on the ground and run from danger.
And they’ve managed to adapt well to this. They like underbrush, for instance, where they can be well-camouflaged. And they can put on a fair burst of speed, reaching up to 12 mph.
Quail can be dangerous. Well, indirectly, anyway. Quail tend towards being herbivorous. Young quail will like their insects for a high protein diet, but move towards mainly eating vegetation. Some quail eat hemp, and this can cause a build-up of toxins in their bodies which, when eaten by humans, can lead to kidney damage.
Quail are often bred to be game birds. When you see those too-much-time-on-their-hands, tweed-wearing, shotgun-toting yahoos wandering around the British countryside, they’re probably hunting quail. For sport. What is it that makes some humans proud of killing animals? Especially when they can’t do it alone. They’ll have dogs with them, running through the woods, flushing quail into the air. So the work is actually done by other animals.
Oh, well.
The Diplomacy ‘Quail’
In Diplomacy, ‘Quail’ are those new players who find themselves in a game with one or two experienced players. These novices are game. They’re ready for the taking. Especially in an arena game, a competitive game of Dip that’s part of a league or tournament.
With the Diplomacy sites – Playdiplomacy, webDiplomacy, Backstabbr, etc – new people come to the Hobby every day. On these sites, they can join games, often without much idea of what Diplomacy is about. Find yourself in a game with one or two experienced players and you’re likely going to find it hard going.
There are three things you can do with this experience. (1) Learn from it, maybe even asking the better players why they did something, what their motivation was. Look at what you did, and work out what you can do better. (2) Throw the towel in and find something different to play. (3) Ignore it and keep right on, doing the same things again and again, and remain as prey.
Of course, as a Quail, you might find your way into an alliance with an experienced player. This is often referred to as a Nursery Alliance. Well, I say often; I call it this. Well, I’ve just thought of it. The problem might be that the Diplopup is so inexperienced that the Dippyist find’s themselves damaged in the process.
THE DIPLOMATICON 
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