- Turnix melanogaster
Identification
18 cm
- Grey bill
- Legs pale yellow
Male
- Back and wings finely patterned with brown, black, grey and white mottling
- Whitish face and throat
- Black breast with numerous white half-moon markings
Female
Photo by Hans&Judy Beste
Border ranges, Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia, 1988-1998 approx
- Black face and throat
- Larger dark area over the upper and lower breast
- Heavier white half-moon markings on the upper and lower breast
otherwise similar to the male
Juvenile - resemble males but is duller.
Distribution
Coastal eastern Australia (south-eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales)
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Coastal scrub, rainforests, semi-evergreen vine thickets, low, dense acacia thickets and in vegetation behind sand dunes.
Behaviour
Breeding
Breeding usually takes place from September to April-May. Nests are a ground scrape, lined with leaves, grass or moss which are hidden in the root of a tree, the base of a fern or under a low bush or grass tussock. The 3-5 eggs are incubated by the males for 18-21 days.
The female may mate with several males and can lay two clutches 8-10 days apart.
Diet
The diet mainly consists of invertebrates; spiders, ants, centipedes, millipedes, beetles and land snails.
Gallery
Click on images to see larger version
Female
Photo by Tristan Norton
Inskip Point, Cooloola National Park, Queensland, November, 2009
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- www.environment.gov.au
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-breasted Buttonquail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-breasted_Buttonquail
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
