The only known captive-bred painted buttonquail were the result of D. Seth-Smith's efforts in 1905 (Hopkinson, 1926; Johnsgard, 1991).
Prior to copulation, the female will run backwards and forwards in front of the male, or circle around him, with her tail erect and her crop puffed out (Johnsgard, 1991). During courtship, the female, faces the male and utters deep booming notes, while she squats with her tail erect and breast expanded almost touching the ground. The male will respond with faint clucking sounds. The female will stomp and scratch the ground and will present the male with food (Hindwood, 1966; Johnsgard, 1991). In addition, the female will defend her breeding territory (Johnsgard, 1991).
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Painted buttonquail are not listed by either the IUCN or CITES.
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no known adverse affects of painted buttonquail on humans.
Painted buttonquail eat insects that may be pests to humans.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Painted buttonquail have an impact on populations of their insect prey and the plants whose seeds they eat.
Foods eaten include seeds and insects (Hindwood, 1966). Where dead leaf litter is present, painted buttonquail will scratch small circular patches to look for food (Hindwood, 1966; Johnsgard, 1991).
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: omnivore
Turnix varius and its four subspecies are found throughout northeastern, eastern, and southern Australia, Tasmania (Hindwood, 1966), Kangaroo Island, Abrolhos Islands, and New Caledonia (Johnsgard, 1991).
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
Painted buttonquail inhabit heatherlands, forest, and timbered ridges where it is dry and scrub is present for shelter.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest
We do not have information on lifespan/longevity for this species at this time.
As with all buttonquail, these birds lack a hind toe (Hindwood, 1966). Wing length for females is approximately 111.4 mm, and 98.3 mm for males. They weigh 60 to 130 g. The more colorful female is generally black above with rufous barring which turns into chestnut. A dark gray spot on the center of the crown is surrounded by black with gray or rufous colored edging. Sides of the face and throat are white with black spots, and the chin and sides of the throat are white. The back of the neck is gray with terminal black and white spots. Just above the upper wings, the feathers are bright chestnut edged with gray and dotted with black and white. The back, upper wing feathers, rump, and upper tail coverts are gray and edged or barred with black and chestnut, with rufous tips and a submarginal white streak. Primary coverts are blackish-gray. Secondary wing coverts are buff-gray with fine black mottling. The rest of the wing coverts are gray with rufous tips and two or three white dots edged with black. The chest is gray with a pale buff shaft streak ending in a terminal black-edged spot. The breast is buff mottled with grey, and the feathers at the breast margins are chestnut with black-edged whititsh spots terminally. The abdomen and other underparts are pale buff (Johnsgard, 1991).
The male is similar in coloration to the female, except for the rufous area just above the upper wings. In addition, the male has more whitish spotting on his gray chest (Johnsgard, 1991).
The precocial chicks have striped down of buff colors, browns and black (Hindwood, 1966). The immature adults are similar in coloration to the male, except that they have duller plumage (Johnsgard, 1991).
Range mass: 60 to 130 g.
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger; sexes colored or patterned differently
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
We do not have information on predation for this species at this time.
Prior to copulation, the female will run backwards and forwards in front of the male, or circle around him, with her tail erect and her crop puffed out (Johnsgard, 1991). During courtship, the female, faces the male and utters deep booming notes, while she squats with her tail erect and breast expanded almost touching the ground. The male will respond with faint clucking sounds. The female will stomp and scratch the ground and will present the male with food (Hindwood, 1966; Johnsgard, 1991). In addition, the female will defend her breeding territory (Johnsgard, 1991).
All buttonquail are polyandrous.
Mating System: polyandrous
The breeding season is from September to March, except in Tasmania where the breeding season is from October to December (Johnsgard, 1991). Breeding can occur at other times of the year, depending on local conditions (Hindwood, 1966).
Painted buttonquail nest in a a shallow depression scraped in the ground that is lined with dead grasss and has a small hood. The nest is usually placed under a tuft of grass, a small shrub, or a fallen sapling (Hindwood, 1966).
The male incubates the eggs and attends to the chicks. Three to five eggs (Johnsgard, 1991) are laid by the female; they are 27 by 21 mm and whitish to light buff with dark flecks or spots (Hindwood, 1966). The eggs weigh approximately 3 to 7 g each. The male is the sole incubator, and the eggs hatch in 13 to 15 days. At 16 days the chicks are fully feathered (Johnsgard, 1991).
Breeding season: The breeding season is from September to March (from October to December in Tasmania), but can occur at other times of the year, depending on local conditions.
Range eggs per season: 3 to 5.
Range time to hatching: 13 to 15 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
The male incubates the eggs and attends to the precocial chicks. Three to five eggs (Johnsgard, 1991) are laid by the female; they are 27 by 21 mm and whitish to light buff with dark flecks or spots (Hindwood, 1966). The eggs weigh approximately 3 to 7 g each. The male is the sole incubator, and the eggs hatch in 13 to 15 days. For the first 10 days, the male feed the chicks. After this, the chicks are able to feed themselves (Johnsgard, 1991).
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; precocial ; pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male)
The painted buttonquail (Turnix varius) is a species of buttonquail, the family Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. This species is resident in Australia where numbers are believed to be in decline. A subspecies, the Abrolhos painted buttonquail (Turnix varius scintillans), is endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos islands.
The painted buttonquail was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Perdix varia.[2]
"Painted buttonquail" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).[3]
Two subspecies are recognised.[3]
The possibly-extinct New Caledonian buttonquail (Turnix novaecaledoniae) of New Caledonia was formerly considered conspecific, but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021.[4]
The painted buttonquail is about 19 to 20 cm (7.5 to 7.9 in) long. It is a ground-dwelling bird and is found in grassy forests and woodlands. It feeds on insects and seeds, and the males incubate the eggs for a fortnight and then care for the young.
The female is the more brightly coloured of the sexes. Her eyes are red, and her crown, face and breast are flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller in colour.
The painted buttonquail is native to Australia. Its range extends from Queensland southwards to New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. A separate population is present in the southwestern part of Western Australia. The subspecies Turnix varius scintillans is endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos islands off the west coast of Australia.
The painted buttonquail became established on Rottnest Island around 2002.[5]
The painted buttonquail has a wide range. An estimate of the population size has not been made but numbers are suspected to be in decline. It is said to be common in suitable habitat in some areas and uncommon in others. The IUCN has listed it as being of "Least Concern".[6]
The painted buttonquail (Turnix varius) is a species of buttonquail, the family Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. This species is resident in Australia where numbers are believed to be in decline. A subspecies, the Abrolhos painted buttonquail (Turnix varius scintillans), is endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos islands.
