Stubble Quail Coturnix pectoralis Scientific name definitions

16–20 cm; male 82–120 g (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), female 75–125 g; wingspan 25–33 cm. Male has distinctive brick-red face  and throat  . Female similar to that of <em>C. coturnix</em> in size; differs from C. coromandelica by paler and more streaked underparts. Bill bluish or olive-grey with browner culmen and tip, irides red-brown to brown, and legs fleshy white, pinkish or pinkish brown (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile male resembles adult female, but has broader black markings on underparts and dusky breast, and after c. 5 weeks acquires rufous on throat (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Differs from the several species of buttonquail whose range it overlaps in being larger and having less blunt-looking wingtips, and most of the Turnix species exhibit contrast between a pale forewing panel and the darker flight feathers (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Introduced to Hawaiian Is and New Zealand (both unsuccessfully).

Australia (mainly in SE & SW); formerly throughout Tasmania, where now extremely rare or almost extinct (only three published records since 1977).

Most habitats except forest, especially grassland , Spinifex thickets (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and well-drained cultivation, including cereal crops (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); prefers zones of tall, dense ground vegetation 10–75 cm (preferably 25–50 cm), though also present in areas of low cover, and occasionally even on bare ground, if food abundant. However, areas of dense grass are clearly preferred over those with sparser cover (2 Baker-Gabb, D.J., Benshemesh, J. and Maher, P.N. (1990). A revision of the distribution, status and management of the Plains-wanderer Pedionomus torquatus. Emu. 90(3): 161–168. Close ). Generally found in drier areas than Synoicus ypsilophorus (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Range can extend into arid zone after rainfall or flooding.

Most populations nomadic, with opportunistic distribution and reproductive cycles, moving mainly in response to rainfall and food availability; can form groups of up to 12 during dispersal periods (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Other populations resident. Irruptions into areas beyond normal range occur occasionally after good rains, especially when numbers have built up during favourable breeding season. Movement of up to 1300 km recorded. Prefers to hide or run in presence of danger, rather than taking flight (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Primarily seeds of grasses, cultivated cereals and weeds; important species are Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Lolium perenne, Triticum aestivum, Polygonum aviculare and Cirsium vulgare. Also leaves, buds and flowers of legumes and herbs, and some invertebrates, mainly insects; in several studies, animal items accounted for between 9·3% and 32·3% of total food consumed. Usually forages on the ground, where scratches and gleans, though also climbs wheat stalks to pick seeds from heads.

Male advertising call  , repeated up to c. 10 times per minute for up to 15 minutes, is a liquid trisyllabic “two-to-weep”, sometimes abbreviated to “two-weep”, or “pippy-wheat” (latter possibly by female); sometimes gives a few sharp chirps when flushed (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Nesting Aug–Mar in most of range, but may vary according to local rainfall pattern, e.g. dry years in Victoria first clutch usually initiated Dec, with second clutch Mar–Apr (following rains), but in years when rain comes earlier starts breeding in Sep with second clutch in Nov and further broods thereafter; Aug–Jan in W Australia (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Probably monogamous, with some birds apparently remaining paired year-round (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Nest (constructed by female) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) is scrape in ground, lined with dried grass, situated in crops or grass. Normally 7–8 creamy-yellow eggs finely marked red-brown and olive-green (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) (5–14) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); incubation 18–21 days, by female only, although male provisions and guards young (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); downy chicks are striped ginger brown and black-brown above, pale buff below; young are capable of weak flight at 16 days. Two or three broods, exceptionally four, per season (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Sexual maturity reached at 2–15 months. Breeding success: in one study, 26 young reared from 41 eggs laid. Reported to have parasitized Synoicus ypsilophorus (3 Krakauer, A. H., and R. T. Kimball (2009). Interspecific brood parasitism in galliform birds. Ibis 151(2):373–381. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Mace Lande: safe. In Australia, range has expanded and numbers have increased as result of human activities, with species moving into agricultural areas; forest clearance, irrigation and establishment of crops and pastures are all beneficial. In contrast, intensely cultivated or grazed areas are unsuitable for present species. Locally common in Victoria and New South Wales, has spread N across E Queensland, and colonized S Western Australia, both within last 50–100 years (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Serious decline in Tasmania, where species almost disappeared by 1953, despite full protection since 1944, coinciding with widespread improvement of pastures; it seems even possible that it became extinct and the rare sightings now are of stragglers either from the Australian mainland or King I (4 Donnelly, A. (2014). What happened to Tasmania's Stubble Quail? Australian Field Orn.. 31: 24–42. Close ). Still present in several islands of Bass Strait, such as Flinders I, where reported to be scarce, and King I, where appears to be common. Suffers considerable hunting pressure, with between 500,000 and 1,000,000 birds shot annually in Victoria during 1930s. Agricultural machinery frequently causes destruction of eggs, young and adults  ; natural predators include Black Falcon (Falco subniger) (5 Stowe, D. (2012). Black Falcon catches Stubble Quail. Boobook. 30(2): 48. Close ). Unsuccessfully introduced into Hawaii and New Zealand (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).