The red-backed buttonquail (''Turnix maculosus'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
in the family
Turnicidae
Buttonquail or hemipodes are members of a small family of birds, Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. They inhabit warm grasslands in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. There are 18 species in two genera ...
. It is found in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. Other names by which it is known in different parts of its range include black-backed, black-spotted and orange-breasted buttonquail. There are fourteen recognised
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.
[
]
Description
The red-backed buttonquail is a small stocky bird with round-tipped wings and a short tail. The length varies between . The female is larger than the male and weighs between to the male's . The subspecies ''T. m. melanotus'', found in northern Australia, has a pale yellow beak, yellowish irises and yellowish legs and feet. The front and top of the head are blackish scalloped with grey, and the side of the head, the neck and throat are brownish-buff, with a reddish-brown partial collar. The upper parts are slate grey, narrowly barred with reddish-brown and black. The under-wing plumage is pale grey. The lower throat is whitish, darkening to buff on the breast and belly, the sides being boldly marked with spots and scallops. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the female is more vividly coloured with a brighter yellow beak and more distinctive chestnut collar. Juveniles have a much darker colouring. Other subspecies vary slightly from this colouring.
Distribution
This buttonquail
Buttonquail or hemipodes are members of a small family of birds, Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. They inhabit warm grasslands in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. There are 18 species in two genera ...
is native to southeastern Asia and Oceania. Its range extends from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and East Timor to Australia. In Australia it ranges in a coastal strip from northeastern Western Australia to Cape York and southward to northeastern New South Wales. It mostly inhabits rough, tussocky grassland, woods and cropped land. It is mostly a lowland bird but the subspecies ''T. m. giluwensis'' can be found at up over in east-central New Guinea. In Australia it is usually found near water and only occurs in areas with at least of rain in summer, and is only resident in areas with at least of precipitation.[
]
Ecology
The red-backed buttonquail is mostly active at dusk and at night. It is a ground-dwelling species and moves around alone or in pairs, or in small groups of up to five birds. When disturbed it may "freeze" or run, but seldom takes to the wing, and when it does so, it does not usually travel far. Nevertheless, some populations are believed to be partially migrant, probably travelling at night; the birds' movements are poorly documented. It feeds on the seeds of grasses and sedges, other seeds, green plant matter and insects, probably consuming more insect prey than other members of the genus.[
Breeding takes place at some time between October and June. The nest is built in the base of a grass tussock, usually among tall grasses in a wet area. It is a scoop lined with grass, leaves and bits of dung, and often roofed with nearby grasses woven together. After the female has laid a clutch of two to four whitish eggs with dark speckles, the male takes over the incubation and is exclusively involved in the care of the young; the female is serially ]polyandrous
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...
, seeking out another male and repeating this breeding process.[
]
Status
''T. maculosus'' has a very wide range and, apart from southeastern Australia where it is said to be uncommon, it is a common species. The total number of birds is thought to be decreasing because suitable habitat for the bird is being degraded, but the population is not declining at a sufficiently fast rate to put the bird at risk, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has assessed its conservation status as "least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
".
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2560908
Turnix
Birds described in 1815
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck