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Little Button-quail (Turnix velox) Alternate name(s): "Little Quail", "Butterfly Quail*", "Dotterel Quail", "Swift-flying Quail" Aboriginal name(s): "kooradong" (WA) Size: 12-14 cm (male), 14-16 cm (female) Weight: 28-44 g (male), 39-68 g (female)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Little Button-quails are very small ground-dwelling birds. Their plumage is highly cryptic and dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. The upperparts (nape of the neck, wings, rump, tail) of both sexes are mainly brown, with some white stripes and dark-grey patches. Males have a cap with the same colours as the rest of the upperparts, a white throat, cream-coloured chest and white belly and vent. Females have a brown cap, white throat, brown chest and white belly and vent. The bill of both sexes is dark-grey, the legs and feet are the colour of skin. Twitcher's tip Compared to other species of quail and button-quail, Little Button-quails have the lightest (pure white) feathers showing by the sides of the uppertail when seen in flight from behind.

Taxonomy, classification See Little Button-quail at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Quail vs. Button-quail Although the two genera of the true quails, Coturnix, and the button-quails, Turnix, are outwardly very similar, and therefore often listed together, there are significant differences between them (which is the reason why they are in different family groups here). Genus Coturnix Turnix Common name True quails Button-quails Similar species Chicken-like Wader-like Toes 4 toes, one of which points backward 3 toes, all of which point forward Nesting habits Communal Non-communal Main incubator Female Male Incubation period ca. 21 days ca. 14 days No. of eggs 8-12 ≤ 4

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Little Button-quail is available HERE . Little Button-quails are endemic to Australia. Their range has very irregular boundaries; for details see e.g. a field guide. Generally speaking, they can be found anywhere on the Australian continent, except Cape York peninsula, an area just to the South of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the south-eastern coastal strip and most of the tropical coastal areas. They are only rarely found in the most arid parts of the continent. Little Button-quails prefer dry woodland and grassland, but also mallee scrub, mostly in semi-arid country.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting a Little Button-quail at Oolambeyan NP, NSW, in November 2012. A single Little Button-quail was seen by us at Eulah Creek in April 2012, although barely alive and subsequently dead, when it was brought in by a neighbourhood cat. During the 2020/21 breeding season, after 3 years of severe drought and heat during the summers with subsequently a year of above average rainfall, an irruption of Little Button-quails was observed in an area spanning from the Upper Hunter valley to the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW. Although not seen by us, their calls were recorded by us at the time at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, NSW. At the time, no aerial predators, such as e.g. Spotted Harriers, were found in the region. M. Fleming found a Little Button-quail in the Pilliga scrub, NSW, in October 2020.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Lateral view of a male Little Button-quail (photo courtesy of M. Fleming)
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, October 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a male Little Button-quail (photo courtesy of M. Fleming)
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, October 2020]

Behaviour

Little Button-quails are mostly nocturnal birds.

Roost(?) on the ground with scats on opposite sides - this is probably where a pair of Little Button-quails usually rest
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Thargomindah, QLD, June 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

More Little Button-quail sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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