Black-breasted Buttonquail
Turnix melanogaster
- Family
- Buttonquail (Turnicidae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The black-breasted buttonquail (Turnix melanogaster) is a rare buttonquail endemic to eastern Australia. As with other buttonquails, it is unrelated to the true quails. The black-breasted buttonquail is a plump quail-shaped bird 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) in length with predominantly marbled black, rufous, and pale brown plumage, marked prominently with white spots and stripes, and white eyes. Like other buttonquails, the female is larger and more boldly coloured than the male, with a distinctive black head and neck sprinkled with fine white markings.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Coastal eastern Australia (southeastern Queensland, and formerly northern New South Wales).
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Black-breasted buttonquail
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
