Italian Roast Quail with Raisins

Quail are migratory game birds that winter in Africa and which are still shot in Italy, Spain and France. In the past an expensive delicacy, large quantities were netted in Egypt for fattening in this country in the 18th century and were also to be found wild in southern England. They were more expensive then, with a dressed bird fetching two shillings and two pence at Smithfield in 1752. Today reared on a large scale in heated barns, like Lilliputian chickens, they retail for about £1 each