The painted buttonquail became established on Rottnest Island around 2002.
Not listed
Indigenous: Scrub Quail, Varied Quail, Butterfly Quail, Speckled Quail, New Holland Partridge, Varied Turnix, Painted Quail
At a glance
FamilyButtonquail
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatIntricately plumaged buttonquail with dark red eye, found in dry woodlands where it feeds by making circular scrapes among deep leaf litter.
Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from September to October.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Louis Masarei
Range map
Range map
2565visible hotspots
17500visible records
5states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Behavior
Intricately plumaged buttonquail with dark red eye, found in dry woodlands where it feeds by making circular scrapes among deep leaf litter. Call is a relentless soft repeated “boom” and also makes a fast sputtering
Gallery
Regional timing
Western Australia
New South Wales
South Australia
Victoria
Queensland
Tasmania
Australian Capital Territory
Commonly confused with
Little ButtonquailTurnix veloxIn some years, this species is very common; in others, it can be very scarce. Male has dark speckled markings on chest and flanks; female much more brightly plumaged, usually lacks breast markings.→Red-chested ButtonquailTurnix pyrrhothoraxSmall, dark, secretive buttonquail with pale eye, found in dense grassland habitats, where most commonly observed exploding from cover and flying rapidly away. Adult female has rich rusty-orange chest; male paler, with white chin.→Red-backed ButtonquailTurnix maculosusThis species is very secretive, and most commonly observed exploding from cover and flying rapidly away - look for pale patches on the wings contrasting with a darker back and wing tips. Has a reddish-brown collar, yellow bill and clear black spots extending down from below the eye to the wing.→