Difference between revisions of "Fynbos Buttonquail" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 18:37, 19 December 2021

Alternative name: Hottentot Buttonquail

Turnix hottentottus

Identification

Length 14-16 cm.
This species has yellow legs and black spots (female) or barring (male) on the neck, breast and belly. Female has bright orange-rufous on side of head and throat areas. The dark back is not as clearly defined as in Black-rumped Buttonquail.

Similar Species

Larger than Small Buttonquail.

Distribution

Africa: South Africa (south-western Cape Province to Port Elizabeth)

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Black-rumped Buttonquail and Fynbos Buttonquail were until recently considered one species.

Habitat

Moist grassland and fynbos, both coastal (winter only?) and higher elevation. Prefers relatively sparse and low (<1 m) vegetation.

Behaviour

A skulking species, found singly, in pairs, or in loose groups. Difficult to flush, preferring to run through grass when disturbed. Creeps slowly through grass when undisturbed.

Breeding

Possibly polyandrous. The nest is a thinly lined scrape in the ground, well concealed in grass 25-50 cm long. Two to four eggs are laid and incubated for 12-14 days by the male.

Diet

Eats invertebrates and seeds.

Vocalisation

Call: A booming ooooop-ooooop.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Debus, S. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Hottentot Buttonquail (Turnix hottentottus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hotbut1.01
Sibley CG & Monroe BL. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533
Sinclair, I., P.A.R. Hockey, W. Tarboton (2002). Birds of South Africa. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford. ISBN 0-691-09682-1
Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Fynbos Buttonquail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fynbos_Buttonquail

External Links

Search for photos of Fynbos Buttonquail in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 '''Alternative name: Hottentot Buttonquail'''
 ;[[:Category:Turnix|Turnix]] hottentottus
-''Turnix nana'', ''Turnix nanus''
 ==Identification==
-Length 14-16 cm. Larger than [[Small Buttonquail]].
+Length 14-16 cm. <br />
+This species has yellow legs and black spots (female) or barring (male) on the neck, breast and belly. Female has bright orange-rufous on side of head and throat areas. The dark back is not as clearly defined as in [[Black-rumped Buttonquail]].
-''T. h. nanus'' has a ginger face and throat; more richly coloured than [[Small Buttonquail]]. The pale belly is unmarked and the dark back and rump contrast with paler wings in flight. The legs are a pale flesh colour.
+====Similar Species====
+Larger than [[Small Buttonquail]].
-The nominate race has yellow legs and black spots on the neck, breast and belly. The dark back is not as clearly defined as in ''T. h. nanus''.
 ==Distribution==
-Sub-Saharan [[Africa]]
+[[Africa]]: [[South Africa]] (south-western Cape Province to Port Elizabeth)
 ==Taxonomy==
-This taxon is sometimes split into two species: ''Turnix nanus'', Black-rumped Buttonquail and ''Turnix hottentottus'', Hottentot Buttonquail.<sup>[[#References|1]], [[#References|2]]</sup>
+This is a [[Dictionary_M-S#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>.
+[[Black-rumped Buttonquail]] and [[Fynbos Buttonquail]] were until recently considered one species.
 ==Habitat==
-Moist grassland and fynbos.
+Moist grassland and fynbos, both coastal (winter only?) and higher elevation. Prefers relatively sparse and low (<1 m) vegetation.
 ==Behaviour==
 A skulking species, found singly, in pairs, or in loose groups.  Difficult to flush, preferring to run through grass when disturbed.  Creeps slowly through grass when undisturbed.
 ====Breeding====
-Probably polyandrous and territorial. The nest is a thinly lined scrape in the ground, well concealed in grass 25-50 cm long. Two to four eggs are laid and incubated for 12-14 days by the male.
+Possibly polyandrous. The nest is a thinly lined scrape in the ground, well concealed in grass 25-50 cm long. Two to four eggs are laid and incubated for 12-14 days by the male.
 ====Diet====
 Eats invertebrates and seeds.
@@ Line 25: / Line 24: @@
 '''Call:''' A booming ''ooooop-ooooop''.
 ==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug21}}#Debus, S. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Hottentot Buttonquail (Turnix hottentottus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hotbut1.01
 # Sibley CG & Monroe BL. 1996. ''Birds of the World'', on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
 # Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. ''Robert's Birds of Southern Africa'', 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533
-# Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299
+#{{Ref-SinclairHockyTarboton02}}# Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299
+{{ref}}
 ==External Links==
-{{GSearch|Turnix+nana}}
+{{GSearch|Turnix+hottentot*}}
+{{GS-checked}}<br /><br />
 [[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Turnix]] [[Category:Missing Images]]