A failed attempt was made to introduce this species to New Zealand by the Otago Acclimatisation Society in the late 1890s.

It is quite common in aviculture worldwide, where it is sometimes misleadingly known as the "button quail", which is the name of an only very distantly related family of birds, the buttonquails.

The eggs of king quail are a light, creamy-brown colour and slightly pointed at the "top", roughly ovular in shape.

[3] Six subspecies are recognized:[4] The species has had a complex taxonomic history, being classified into the genus Coturnix, then Synoicus, then Excalfactoria.

King quail are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

They may be housed in pairs to quartets in a planted aviary, kept singly in bird cages, or in colonies in large flights.

Suspension cages do not work well for this species of quail because of their smaller feet; a much finer size of floor wire should be employed.

Preferably, a clump of long grass, tea tree branches, or pile of loose herbage should be provided.

[12] The nest is a simple scrape in the ground, lined with grasses, and is built by the hen with some assistance from the cock.

The eggs measuring 25 x 19mm are variable in colour from the palest of browns to dark olive and peppered with fine black spots.

In one case, a silver hen was kept for many years by herself, moulted into cock plumage, and laid only extremely pale, green-shelled eggs for a few seasons before passing of old age.

During breeding, hens should be fed calcium-rich food sources such as shell grit to prevent egg binding.