Buff-breasted Buttonquail Turnix olivii Scientific name definitions

18–22 cm; female larger. Large, rufous Turnix with large bill and yellow eyes; distinguished from slightly smaller and shorter-legged T. varius (which prefers more densely wooded areas) by heavier bill, plainer breast and lack of rufous shoulder patch (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Male predominantly sandy-brown, contrasting grey crown, nape and hindneck with prominent black stripes on each side, black-and-rufous barring on mantle and scapulars, and rufous upperwing-coverts spotted white (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Female has brighter rufous-brown upperparts than male, with plainer pattern (less heavy markings), fewer and smaller white spots on wing-coverts, darker grey forehead, darker neck-sides with less white speckling, and mostly chestnut lateral crown stripes (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile unknown, but probably recalls adult male (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Flushes reluctantly (when observer just 2–5 m away) and typically over short distances (15–80 m), preferring to walk or run from danger; low flights start level, followed by an initial “leap”, then a further climb before levelling off (quite unlike potentially similar Coturnix species) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Scattered sites in Cape York Peninsula, N Queensland, Australia.

Normally found in wooded grasslands (especially of Melaleuca, Acacia, Alphitonia or Tristania) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and grassy fringes of forests and swamps; often on stony hillsides or ridges with sparse grass cover and virtually no leaf-litter (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), within woodland or rainforest, but other sites possess dense ground cover, e.g. of up to 1 m-tall Heteropogon (Poaceae); occurs from sea-level up to 400 m. Breeds in grassy woodland.

None known; southerly expansion of range may occur during wet years, with birds moving S from C Cape York Peninsula (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but range may also fluctuate in response to burning.

Little known; seeds and insects recorded. Like congeners, swallows coarse sand, presumably to assist mechanical breakdown in gizzard. Terrestrial. Usually recorded alone, in pairs or small coveys of 3–8 birds, but more exceptionally up to 20 (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Female advertising call is a booming “ooom-oom-oom”, which becomes gradually louder (first notes may be virtually inaudible), higher-pitched and shorter, being repeated up to 20 times and lasting up to 30 seconds, to which male responds with deep, rapid “chu-chu-chu” whistle; it is unclear which sex gives a deep humming call rendered “gug-gug-gug”, but both sexes apparently responsible for a soft “chirp-chirp-chirp” and a longer, louder “kwaare-kwaare” (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Little known. Season Jan–Mar, but male with chicks seen in late Dec (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Solitary breeder. Nest a domed structure of grass stems with side entrance, in shallow depression lined with grass and a few leaves; well hidden among grass stalks or low shrubs or under grass tussock in open woodland (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Usually 3–4 whitish eggs speckled chestnut, bluish grey or black (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) (2–4); incubation period unknown but presumably similar to that of T. varius. Incubation and probably chick-care by male alone. Chicks precocial and nidifugous (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but not described.

ENDANGERED. Population obviously declining (2 Franklin, D. C. (1999). Evidence of disarray amongst granivorous bird assemblages in the savannas of northern Australia, a region of sparse human settlement. Biological Conservation 90(1):53–68. Close ) (albeit at an unknown rate) and estimated at just 500 individuals within historical range of just 2070 km² (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). No recent records from early collecting sites such as Coen and near Cooktown and, during last decade, only found sporadically at a few sites; in 1990s, found progressively less frequently near Mt Molloy, despite intensive searching. Scarcely distributed in remote area, with cryptic behaviour typical of congeners; seldom encountered by ornithologists, and biology poorly known. Possibly threatened by grazing and associated frequent fires; predation by feral cats (Felis catus) or feral pigs (Sus scrofa) may also affect abundance. Extensive survey and research work on ecology required; a recovery plan for the species’ conservation has been prepared.