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Red-chested Button-quail
(Turnix pyrrhothorax)
Size: 12-14 cm (male), 14-16 cm (female)
Weight: 28-46 g (male), 40-73 g (female)
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Red-chested 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 dark grey-brown, with a thin, central brown
stripe on the cap.
Male
Red-chested Button-quails have a white throat, light-brown chest
and white belly and vent.
Female
Red-chested Button-quails have an all chestnut-brown front
(throat, chest, belly, vent).
The bill of both sexes is dark-grey, the legs and feet are the
colour of skin.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared to other species of
quail and
button-quail,
Red-chested Button-quails have the most pronounced contrast
between dark upperparts and lighter (or homogeneous chestnut
brown) front.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Red-chested
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).
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Genus
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Coturnix
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Turnix
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Common name
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True quails
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Button-quails
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Similar species |
Chicken-like |
Wader-like |
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Toes |
4 toes, one of which points backward |
3 toes, all of which point forward |
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Nesting habits |
Communal |
Non-communal |
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Main incubator |
Female |
Male |
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Incubation period |
ca. 21 days |
ca. 14 days |
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No. of eggs |
8-12 |
≤ 4 |
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Red-chested Button-quail is available
HERE
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Red-chested Button-quails are endemic to the Australia continent.
Their distribution is
patchy. They are mostly found in parts of the Great Dividing
Range and some inland areas of NSW and QLD. Occasionally they
can disperse along the entire north-eastern half of the
Australian continent, i.e. roughly all of VIC, NSW, QLD,
the NT (except its south-western corner) and the Kimberley
in WA.
Red-chested Button-quails are found mostly in open grassland.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
A female Red-chested Button-quail was spotted by G. & G. Drady on
the Coonamble to Baradine road (NSW) in February 2011.
R. Druce reports seeing a Red-chested Button-quail at
Maules Creek, NSW, in December 2011.
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 Red-chested Button-quails was
observed in an area spanning from the Upper Hunter valley to the North-west
Slopes and Plains of NSW. At the time, no aerial predators, such
as e.g. Spotted Harriers,
were found in the area.
We have first spotted a single Red-chested Button-quail at
Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, NSW,
in February 2012. Another was found at the same location in
April 2020, when first photos were obtained by us.
M. Roderick reports finding a Red-chested Button-quail at
Hexham Swamp, Hunter estuary, Newcastle, NSW, in December 2017.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Frontal view of a male Red-chested Button-quail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Red-chested Button-quail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Red-chested Button-quail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2020]
Near-lateral view of a male Red-chested Button-quail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2020]
Lateral view of a male Red-chested Button-quail
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2020]
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FEMALE |
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Near-frontal view of a female Red-chested Button-quail
(photo courtesy of M. Roderick)
[Hexham Swamp, Hunter estuary, Newcastle, NSW, December 2017]
Lateral view of a female Red-chested Button-quail caught out in
the middle of a road
(photo courtesy of G. & G. Drady)
[Coonamble-Baradine road, NSW, February 2011]
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Call(s)/Song |
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For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own; are welcome.
More Red-chested Button-quail sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
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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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
are welcome.