A covey is a small group of birds, especially game birds like quail or partridge. When hunters or birdwatchers spot a covey of quail, they're seeing perhaps eight to fifteen birds moving together through a field or forest. These birds stick together for protection: when one senses danger, the whole covey explodes into flight at once, scattering in different directions to confuse predators.

Coveys often form from a single family: parent birds and their offspring staying together through fall and winter.

People sometimes use covey playfully to describe a small group of people, especially when they move together like a flock. A teacher might smile and say “here comes a covey of kindergarteners” when seeing a group of young students heading toward the playground together. But the word belongs primarily to birds, where it captures something specific about how certain species survive by staying close together.