Yellow-legged buttonquail were first bred in captivity in 1903 by Seth-Smith.
During the breeding season, the female utters a low-pitched booming whistle. The call has been described as a "guuk-guuk, guuk," which is repeated and can be heard at a distance of 100 m. After the first two notes are uttered, there is a pause, then louder notes or hoots are produced. After about the fifth repetition, the call becomes a moan that increases in intensity. While calling, the female bows her head and slightly droops her wings.
During courtship, the female will lower her breast to touch the ground with her tail pointing upward. She may make soft clucking sounds, while holding an insect in her beak for the male, in a tidbitting fashion. The male utters a similar tidbitting call when he has food for the chicks.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Turnix tanki are not listed by either CITES or the IUCN.
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Although yellow-legged buttonquail eat green shoots from crops, they have not been reported to be harmful to those crops.
Yellow-legged buttonquail may eat insects that are harmful to humans and/or crops.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
Yellow-legged buttonquail have an impact on the populations of prey they consume and the plants they eat.
Yellow-legged buttonquail feed on grain, grass seeds, green shoots from crops, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: omnivore
These birds are found from India to Manchuria, Taiwan, and Hainan. They are also found in Myanmar (Finn, 1911; Rutgers and Norris, 1970) and the Nicobar and Andaman Islands (Johnsgard, 1991).
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )
Yellow-legged buttonquail prefer open sandy ground with patches of short, rough grass.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
We do not have information on lifespan/longevity for this species at this time.
Females are larger than males, with a wing length of 79 to 93 mm. They are grayish-brown above. The collar is rufous, and the forehead and sides of the head are buff, tipped with black. The chin and mid-throat areas are whitish-buff, and the sides of the throat, chest, and breast are a rufous-buff. The crown is black and edged in buff, sometimes with a buff stripe down the middle of the head. The back, rump, upper tail coverts and feathers capping the wings are irregularly barred with fine dark brown to black markings and flecks of rufous. Primary coverts are blackish-brown, narrowly edged in buff. The rest of the coverts are buff with a subterminal black spot. The flanks and belly are whitish; most of the feathers on the sides of the chest and breast have a small subterminal round black spot. The iris may be straw-yellow to whitish. The beak is a reddish brown on top and chrome-yellow on the bottom. The legs and feet are chrome-yellow in color, and give this bird its common name.
The male, with a wing length of 71 to 84 mm, does not have the rufous collar, but has more of the black spotting on his upper parts than the female. The iris is whitish, the beak is a brownish color, and the legs and feet are a yellowish color.
At seven weeks of age, the chicks have adult plumage. In addition, the iris changes from a blackish color to a whitish color.
Adults weigh from 35 to 113 g.
Range mass: 35 to 113 g.
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger; sexes colored or patterned differently
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
We do not have informaton on predation for this species at this time.
During the breeding season, the female utters a low-pitched booming whistle. The call has been described as a "guuk-guuk, guuk," which is repeated and can be heard at a distance of 100 m. After the first two notes are uttered, there is a pause, then louder notes or hoots are produced. After about the fifth repetition, the call becomes a moan that increases in intensity. While the female calls she bows her head and slightly droops her wings.
During courtship, the female will lower her breast to touch the ground with her tail pointing upward. She may make soft clucking sounds, while holding an insect in her beak for the male, in a tidbitting fashion.
All buttonquail are polyandrous.
Mating System: polyandrous
Breeding begins in March. The nest may be domed and is made of hay or grasses in a shallow hollow in the ground. There are three eggs per clutch; the eggs hatch in only 12 days. The eggs are 23 mm by 18 mm and weigh 3 to 9 g. At ten days old, the chicks are able to fly.
Breeding season: Breeding begins in March.
Average time to hatching: 12 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
The males are responsible for feeding the chicks.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; pre-hatching/birth (Protecting); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male)
The yellow-legged buttonquail (Turnix tanki) is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This family is peculiar in that the females are larger and more colourful than the males and are polyandrous.
The yellow-legged buttonquail is a small quail growing to a length of 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7 in), the females being slightly larger and more brightly coloured than the males. The weight is 36 to 43 g (1.3 to 1.5 oz) for the subspecies Turnix t. tanki, and 35 to 78 g (1.2 to 2.8 oz) for the male Turnix t. blanfordii, while the female of this subspecies is 93 to 113 g (3.3 to 4.0 oz). The tail is short and the wings have rounded ends.[2]
The adult male has a black crown with a buff margin, and sometimes a buff central streak. The front and side of the head are buff, the individual feathers having black tips. The throat is pale buff, darkening to reddish-buff at the edges and on the breast, and paling again on the belly, becoming white at the under tail coverts. The sides of the breast are scattered with round black spots. The nape and upper parts of the body and tail are greyish-brown, with reddish and dark brown vermiculations and spotting. The main wing feathers are blackish-brown with buff margins, and the wing coverts are buff with dark spots. The beak is dull yellow, the irises whitish, and the legs and feet deep yellow.[2]
The adult female differs from the male in being a richer colour and in having a broad, reddish-brown collar round the back of the neck. The spots and vermiculations on the back and tail are not so dark, the beak and legs are brighter yellow, and the irises are creamy white or yellowish-brown. In non-breeding plumage, the rufous collar of the female becomes mixed with grey and the other plumage also become greyer. The juvenile is similar to the male in appearance but has dingier plumage, a less vivid breast colour and more fine speckling.[2]
The species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Southeast Asia. There are two recognised subspecies; T. t. tanki is found in Pakistan, India and Nepal, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; and T. t. blanfordii is found in Myanmar, and Indochina, and eastwards to eastern China. It also migrates to and breeds in the Korea peninsular and the southernmost parts of southeast Russia.[3] In most of its range it is a resident species, but it migrates to the drier parts of India in the wet season, and similarly to the southeastern part of Russia, making its journeys by night.
This species is ground-dwelling and usually runs away from danger rather than taking to the air. It is generally seen singly or in pairs.
The diet includes green plant material, seeds, and a variety of insects including beetles, ants and grasshoppers.
Breeding takes place between March and November, mostly in the wet season. Females have a bright rufous nape collar which is moulted during the non-breeding season. Females offer food to males during courtship and once the eggs are laid, the females leave incubation to the male. The eggs hatch after about 12 days (in captivity) and the chicks follow the male after hatching.[4] The nest is a scoop in the ground lined with grasses and often roofed with bent-down plant stems, having an entrance at the side. A clutch of four greyish-white, blotched eggs is laid and these are incubated by the male alone; they hatch after twelve to sixteen days and the chicks are cared for by the male.[2] After her eggs are laid, the female moves off and selects another mate, with whom she lays another clutch of eggs in a different nest.[2]
T. tanki has a very wide range and is a relatively common species. The total number of birds is thought to be stable, and no particular threats to this species have been detected. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the bird's conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]
The yellow-legged buttonquail (Turnix tanki) is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This family is peculiar in that the females are larger and more colourful than the males and are polyandrous.
