Black-breasted Buttonquail
Photo · Rawpixel Ltd

BirdUp · Species

Black-breasted Buttonquail

Turnix melanogaster(Gould, 1837)

VulnerableEndemic
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Genus
Turnix
Conservation
Vulnerable
Commonness
Rare
Best seen
Year-round

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The black-breasted buttonquail is a rare buttonquail endemic to eastern Australia. As with other buttonquails, it is unrelated to the true quails. The black-breasted buttonquail is a plump quail-shaped bird 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) in length with predominantly marbled black, rufous, and pale brown plumage, marked prominently with white spots and stripes, and white eyes. Like other buttonquails, the female is larger and more boldly coloured than the male, with a distinctive black head and neck sprinkled with fine white markings. The usual sex roles are reversed, as the female mates with multiple male partners and leaves them to incubate the eggs.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

02 · Where

Where to find it

Breeding range
South-east QLD and north-east NSW (east-central Australia)

03 · When

When to look

Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

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