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The female is polyandrous , initiating courtship among several males and expelling rival females from her territory.
WA: Rare; NT: Endangered
Endemic to Australia
Indigenous: Red-Breasted Quail, Chestnut-Breasted Quail, Red-Chested Quail, Red-Chested Turnix, Yellow Quail
At a glance
FamilyButtonquail
SizeSmall
RarityUncommon
HabitatGrassland, Herbaceous Graminoids Open Tussock Grasses, Open woodland, and Sparse woodland
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from December to January.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Greg McLachlan
Range map
Range map
760visible hotspots
2198visible records
5states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
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
Overview
Small, 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.
Behavior
In flight, note the fairly uniformly dark upperparts, with less contrast between flight feathers and coverts than in most other buttonquail.
Gallery