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;Turnix varia | ;Turnix varia | ||
| − | [[Image:Painted_Buttonquail.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by | + | [[Image:Painted_Buttonquail.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by monika<br/>Location: Whyalla, South Australia]] |
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
| − | The Painted Buttonquail (Turnix varia) is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This buttonquail is about 19-20 cm long. The female is the more brightly coloured of the sexes. Her eye is red, and her crown, face and breast is flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut, with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller. 6.7–9.1 in (17–23 cm); male 1.9–3.3 oz (53–94 g), female 2.5–4.7 oz (72–134 g). Large buttonquail, reddish with mottled gray breast, slender bill, and red eyes. Female larger and redder. Juvenile smaller, grayer, and more mottled, without red, and with pale eyes. | + | The Painted Buttonquail (''Turnix varia'') is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This buttonquail is about 19-20 cm long. The female is the more brightly coloured of the sexes. Her eye is red, and her crown, face and breast is flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut, with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller. 6.7–9.1 in (17–23 cm); male 1.9–3.3 oz (53–94 g), female 2.5–4.7 oz (72–134 g). Large buttonquail, reddish with mottled gray breast, slender bill, and red eyes. Female larger and redder. Juvenile smaller, grayer, and more mottled, without red, and with pale eyes. |
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==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
This species is resident in Australia. | This species is resident in Australia. | ||
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==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Revision as of 20:15, 15 July 2007
- Turnix varia
Identification
The Painted Buttonquail (Turnix varia) is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This buttonquail is about 19-20 cm long. The female is the more brightly coloured of the sexes. Her eye is red, and her crown, face and breast is flecked with white. Her shoulders are chestnut, with thin white streaking above them. The male is slightly smaller and duller. 6.7–9.1 in (17–23 cm); male 1.9–3.3 oz (53–94 g), female 2.5–4.7 oz (72–134 g). Large buttonquail, reddish with mottled gray breast, slender bill, and red eyes. Female larger and redder. Juvenile smaller, grayer, and more mottled, without red, and with pale eyes.
Distribution
This species is resident in Australia.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Scrub, grassy woodland, open forest, grassy clearings in dense forest, and heath
Behaviour
It feeds on insects and seeds, and males incubate the eggs for a fortnight and then care for the young. Terrestrial, diurnal, and partly nocturnal. Migrates at night. Strongly territorial. Eats seeds, green shoots, and invertebrates obtained by gleaning and scratching on the ground. Lays from late winter to autumn in south and east of range, all months of the year in the tropics. Females are sequentially polyandrous but may form short-term monogamous bonds. Clutch is usually three or four eggs, though up to five. Incubation 13–14 days. Chicks are fed by the male for 7–10 days, can fly at 10 days, are fully feathered at 16 days, and reach adult size at 23 days. Breeding success in one sample was 3.7 chicks per successful nest, and 2.6 chicks per clutch started. Broods averaged 3.5 young in the first week, down to 2.3 in the second.
