Little Button-quail (Turnix velox)

Other Names (World)
Little Buttonquail, Australian Little Buttonquail, Little Quail, Butterfly Quail, Dotterel Quail, Swift-flying Quail, Button Quail, White-bellied Quail, Butterfly Turnix, Dotterel Turnix, Swift-flying Turnix, Button Turnix, White-bellied Turnix

Family
Turnicidae (Buttonquails)

Size
13 - 16 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gould, 1841)

Derivation
Tur'-nix - L., quail: vë'-lox - L., swift

Abundance (Guide)
C

Common but varies locally. Irruptive. Nomadic

Habitat
Grassland with open plains.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B).

Continental Australia, mainly inland.

Australia generally, except the tropical north, the extreme east and south-east, and Tasmania.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually in coveys, both large and small.

Food
Seeds of grasses and other plants. Occasionally insects.

Voice
A soft, high, resonant musical 'whoo, whoo, whoo...'. When flushed utters a squeaky chatter.

(33Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (27)...)

Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox) [XC609596]
by Marc Anderson from Mount Wood Homestead area, Sturt NP, New South Wales, Australia (call)

Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox) [XC596531]
by Marc Anderson from Paroo Darling National Park, New South Wales, Australia (song)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Throughout the year.

Nest
A slight depression in the ground, lined with grass, usually partly hidden by a tuft of grass.

Eggs (Guide)
3 - 5; slightly glossy, off-white, finely spotted with light brown, and slate-grey; oval to pyriform; about 23 x 18 mm. Incubation: 13 - 14 days; by male.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
Proposed subspecies picturata and vinotincta (north-western Australia) and leucogaster (central Australia) no longer recognized, because based on individual variation.

No subspecies.

Similar Species
Chestnut-backed Button-quail (Turnix castanotus) which has grey underparts and lacks the white streaking on the tail.

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for Little Button-quail (Turnix velox) - 10 files

MP3 files for Little Button-quail (Turnix velox) - 1 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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