Painted Button quail | |
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Conservation status | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Turniciformes |
Family: | Turnicidae |
Genus: | Turnix |
Species: | T. varius |
Binomial name | |
Turnix varius (Latham, 1802) |
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The Distribution of the Painted Button quail | |
Synonyms | |
Turnix varia (Latham, 1802) (lapsus) |
Painted Button quail, Turnix varius, is a species of button quail, the family Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. This species is resident in Australia.
The Painted Buttonquail is about 19-20 cm long. The species is found in grassy forests and woodlands. It feeds on insects and seeds, and males incubate the eggs for a fortnight and then care for the young.
The female is the more brightly colored 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.
A subspecies, the Abrolhos Painted Button-quail (Turnix varius scintillans), is endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos islands.