The New Zealand Quail, or koreke (the M?ori name), has been extinct since 1875. The male and female were similar, except for the fact the female was lighter. The first scientist to describe it was Sir Joseph Banks when he visited New Zealand on James Cook's first voyage. The first specimen was collected in 1827 by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard on Dumont D'Urville's voyage. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Australian Stubble Quail, which would then be named Coturnix novaezelandiae pectoralis as it was only scientifically described after the New Zealand birds were.

Presently, research is being conducted at Massey University to find out whether the quails found on Tiritiri Matangi island - which was spared the worst impact of introduced predators - may be a surviving population of this species. It has also been suggested that these birds are koreke-Brown Quail hybrids, but as these species do not seem particularly close relatives, this is quite doubtful.