Painted Buttonquail
Encyclopedia
Painted Button quail, Turnix varius, is a species of button quail, the family Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quail
s of Phasianidae
. This species is resident in Australia
.
The Painted Buttonquail is about 19-20 cm long. The species is found in grassy forests and woodlands. It feeds on insects and seeds, and males incubate the eggs for a fortnight and then care for the young.
The female is the more brightly colored of the sexes. Her eye is red, and her crown, face and breast is flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut, with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller.
A subspecies, the Abrolhos Painted Button-quail
(Turnix varius scintillans), is endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos
islands.
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
s of Phasianidae
Phasianidae
The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...
. This species is resident in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The Painted Buttonquail is about 19-20 cm long. The species is found in grassy forests and woodlands. It feeds on insects and seeds, and males incubate the eggs for a fortnight and then care for the young.
The female is the more brightly colored of the sexes. Her eye is red, and her crown, face and breast is flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut, with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller.
A subspecies, the Abrolhos Painted Button-quail
Abrolhos Painted Button-quail
The Abrolhos Painted Button-quail is a subspecies of the Painted Buttonquail endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos. It is common on North Island, and also occurs on other islands of the Wallabi Group, namely East Wallabi, West Wallabi, Seagull and Pigeon Islands...
(Turnix varius scintillans), is endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos
Houtman Abrolhos
The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands, and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. Nominally located at , it lies about eighty kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia...
islands.