BIRDGACHA / FIELD NOTES

Buttonquail

Buttonquails are small, cryptically patterned ground birds with short bills and strong legs. Their rounded bodies can recall true quails, but the family belongs to a different part of the bird tree. Examples include Yellow-legged Buttonquail (Turnix tanki), Quail-plover (Ortyxelos meiffrenii), and Red-backed Buttonquail (Turnix maculosus). They take seeds and small invertebrates, sometimes scratching circular feeding patches. Females are often larger and more strongly patterned, while males provide much parental care. Most members lack a hind toe. A fleeting flush can obscure these details, making a clear ground view especially useful for body pattern and structure.

How to recognize Buttonquail

Bill: short compact bills.
Outline: small rounded bodies with strong legs and usually three toes.
Feeding: scratching and picking seeds and invertebrates on the ground.

Where they live

Warm Old World regions support buttonquails in grassland, scrub, open woodland and other habitats with ground cover. Species differ in their use of dry country and denser vegetation, with Australia holding several distinctive forms. Rainfall and vegetation changes can influence local movements. Their small size and cryptic behaviour make occupancy difficult to assess from casual sightings alone, especially where suitable grass is patchy or the birds remain beneath low cover.

Species accounts: Yellow-legged Buttonquail · Quail-plover · Red-backed Buttonquail

Sources — natural history: Wikipedia: Buttonquail natural history · Cornell Birds of the World: Yellow-legged Buttonquail species account · Don Roberson: Buttonquail field observations and natural history.

Classification: IOC World Bird List: family names and classification.

Some Cornell Birds of the World account sections require a subscription.

Updated 2026-11-06. Species counts follow this site's catalogue. This is an editorial summary, not an expert peer review.