"The Catching of Quails" is an English country dance tune in 6/8 time and G Major. It first appears in Playford's English Dancing Master, 4th edition (1670), and was retained through the 10th edition of 1698. It was dropped from subsequent editions, along with the similarly titled (and perhaps companion tune?) "The Catching of Fleas". The modality of this tune, which was originally published in Playford's Dancing Master (4th edition, 1670), shifts from C to G to D Major. It was retained in the long-running Dancing Master series through the 10th edition, 1698. The title was one specifically mentioned in plays of the 17th century as being for bagpipe. It was printed in Barlow's Complete Country Dances from Playford's Dancing Master (1985) and Sharp's Country Dance Tunes (1909).