Barred Buttonquail Turnix suscitator Scientific name definitions

13·5–17·5 cm (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); male 35–52 g, female 47–68 g; female larger (by mean 9% in Peninsular Malaysia) (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Most widespread buttonquail in SE Asia (3 Robson, C. (2000). A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east Asia. New Holland, London, UK. Close ). Fairly large, russet-brown <em>Turnix</em> with boldly patterned head, barred underparts and pale pinkish, greyish, greenish-yellow (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) or yellow legs and feet. Female brighter than male  , with black throat/upper breast , heavy black barring over rest of breast and upper flanks, deep rufous-buff ventral region (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and rufous collar in some races; irides pale yellow but once red (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) (usually pearl-white male) and bill is grey with yellow base and tip (lacks contrasting tip in male) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but is typically bright yellow, sometimes with a greyer or horn-coloured maxilla, in the Indonesian races (nominate, rufilatus and powelli) (4 Iqbal, M. and Setiawan, D. (2018). Yellow or grey: what colour are the bill and legs of Barred Buttonquail Turnix suscitator races on the Sunda islands, Indonesia? BirdingASIA. 29: 70–72. Close ). Non-breeders duller in at least two races, but not all (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile most like male , but smaller and more buff-coloured wing-coverts and fringes to flight feathers (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), with V-shaped or rounded black spots (not bars) on breast; female quickly develops black throat (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Races vary in size, and in patterns and coloration of plumage; sexes alike in some races; race leggei has brighter, more rufous upperparts (especially scapulars) with especially bold white-fringed wing-coverts, perhaps whiter ground colour to underparts than race <em>taigoor</em> , and bill has larger yellow base than in many forms, while female has particularly extensive black on throat and breast; race plumbipes is generally considered to be poorly differentiated, being dark grey-brown above with weak pale streaking; race bengalensis has generally very uniform pale grey-brown upperparts, rufous-buff ground colour to underparts, plain grey-white face with black tips to feathers, deep-based bill, and female has especially broad black throat; race okinavensis is most like blakistoni, but has heavier bill (more like race thai) and is paler above than other races in E Asia; race rostratus is mainly differentiated from neighbouring races in that female has distinctive non-breeding plumage, as it otherwise seems to be a poorly differentiated subspecies (although it is possible that female is slightly more rufous-tinged below and slightly buffier on wing-coverts, and male has reduced barring on throat and flanks) (5 Collar, N.J. (2004). Endemic subspecies of Taiwan birds—first impressions. BirdingASIA. 2: 34–52. Close ); race blakistoni is distinguished by fact that both sexes have buffier underparts than other subspecies in SE Asia and richer chestnut ground colour above, while female has duller non-breeding plumage; race pallescens is a generally pale subspecies, with highly distinct black-and-rufous upperparts markings, broad white bars on scapulars and inner wing-coverts, and overall appears somewhat rufescent; race thai  can be separated from races blakistoni and atrogularis by its brownish-grey upperparts; race interrumpens has very uniform upperparts that lack rich rufous markings of blakistoni and black bars of races suscitator and atrogularis; race atrogularis  is richer buff below than other SE Asian races, while pale buff of wings is paler and more extensive than in nominate race; race suscitator is distinguished by male’s white throat (scalloped dark brown/black), breast and belly, rufous posterior flanks and undertail-coverts, and mainly brown upperparts, while female is rather dark-crowned, with deep-based bill, very extensive black chin/throat, and bold buff, black and white markings on wing-coverts; male of race baweanus has shorter bill than other races, while both sexes have a less deep-based bill, and female has black throat/foreneck less extensive than previous race and others, and less coarse underparts barring, while the less heavily-marked upperparts and less extensive buff underparts recall the nominate; race <em>fasciatus</em> has greyish central coronal stripe, slight chestnut collar and pale chestnut ventral region, while female has chestnut collar and black throat; race haynaldi is rather small, but long-billed and has plumage most similar to rufilatus (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); race nigrescens has particularly dark rufous collar on hindneck that varies considerably in extent, being totally absent in some; female of race rufilatus has throat barred black and white, rather than solid black; race powelli very different, essentially lacking rufous tones throughout plumage, and with greyish-brown upperparts largely unmarked.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Grassland (mainly Imperata in peninsular Malaysia) (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), crops (including sugarcane, coffee and tea plantations) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), deserted fields, secondary growth, scrub, bamboo thickets and forest edge habitats, on sandy soil, often near water; occurs from sea-level up to 2500 m in Himalayas and to 1650 m in SE Asia, but generally found below 300 m (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Breeds in rank ground vegetation, often near margin of more open ground.

Poorly known. Apparently resident in most areas, but some continental populations may be locally nomadic or migratory, according to rains. In Bhutan, just three records, all in Feb–Jul (6 Spierenburg, P. (2005). Birds in Bhutan: Status and Distribution. Oriental Bird Club, Bedford, UK. Close ), but apparent absence in other months might represent an observational lacuna. Like most Turnix is a reluctant flier, and if flushed usually drops back into cover within 10–20 m (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Grass and weed seeds, invertebrates and green shoots. Terrestrial; forages among grass and leaf-litter, where makes circular scrapes in mulch . Commutes to foraging sites via well-defined trails, marked by footprints. Usually recorded singly or in pairs; some evidence that species is nocturnal in Malaysia (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Female advertising call  (often given nocturnally) in India and Sri Lanka likened to sound of a distant motorbike, a ventriloquial “drr-r-r-r-r-r” ending abruptly, preceded by 3–4 long, deep “groo” notes uttered at five-second intervals, with the whole lasting c. 15 seconds, or (in Japan) a far-carrying, foghorn-like “hoon-hoon-hoon”, which series is initially level in pitch but gradually becomes more upslurred and louder, although the tempo remains even (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 7 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Laying recorded in all months, but with local peaks (e.g. Apr–May in Japan) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) according to seasonal conditions and possible gaps at height of rains or in driest months; Dec–Oct (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) in continental SE Asia; Feb–Sept in Philippines (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Solitary breeder; females sequentially polyandrous. Nest a pad of grass in shallow depression, often in grass tuft; stems bent to form overhead dome with side entrance, but still usually sited close to small bush or palm, presumably for shade (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Usually four grey-olive eggs  densely marked with brown, lavender and purplish black (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) (range 2–6, but usually just 2–3 in Philippines and 1–4 reported on Flores, in Lesser Sundas) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 8 Mees, G. F. (2006). The avifauna of Flores (Lesser Sunda Islands). Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 80(3):1–261. Close ), size 22·3–24·9 mm × 19·2–20·5 mm (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) or 23·6–26·3 mm × 18·2–21 mm (race powelli) (8 Mees, G. F. (2006). The avifauna of Flores (Lesser Sunda Islands). Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 80(3):1–261. Close ); incubation 12–16 days (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Incubation and chick-care  by male alone. Downy chick has buff-white eyestripe, broad dark chocolate band over dorsal surface, sides of face buff-white and rest of body grey-brown (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Chicks reach adult size in 40–60 days.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Appears to be widespread and common in India , Sri Lanka, Japan (where range is restricted) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and most parts of SE Asian range, so far as is known; very common in Thailand, but reportedly declining in cultivated parts of Malaysia due to herbicide usage (2 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Very rare or perhaps only a vagrant in Bhutan, where all records in C & E valleys (see Movements) (6 Spierenburg, P. (2005). Birds in Bhutan: Status and Distribution. Oriental Bird Club, Bedford, UK. Close ). Ability to live near humans and to benefit from cutting, grazing and cropping suggests that species is likely to be secure.