Barred Buttonquail
Turnix suscitator
Tiny rotund, short-tailed bird, scarcely larger than a sparrow; like a diminutive partridge or quail but only distantly related. Brown with scaly streaking above, extensive black barring on the chest (more extensive on the female), and rich tawny flanks. Extremely difficult to detect, moving about invisibly in dense weedy vegetation in fields, forest edges, and farmland. Flying birds have whirring flight, show contrast between dark flight feathers and paler coverts. Courting females give sonorous, booming calls from dense vegetation.
Identification
A typical little buttonquail, rufous-brown above, rusty and buff below. Chin, throat and breast closely barred with black. Female larger and more richly coloured, with throat and middle of breast black. The blue-grey bill and legs, and yellowish white eyes are diagnostic, as are also the pale buff shoulder-patches on the wings when in flight. Absence of hind toe distinguishes Bustard and Button quails from true quails. Pairs, in scrub and grassland. The calls are a motorcycle-like drr-r-r-r-r-r and a loud hoon- hoon-hoon.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
The barred buttonquail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the grouse like birds in the genus Tetrao and coined the binomial name Tetrao suscitator. Gmelin cited the English ornithologist Francis Willughby who in 1678 had described and illustrated the "Indian Quail of Brontius" from the Island of Java. The barred buttonquail is now placed in the genus Turnix that was introduced in 1791 by French naturalist in Pierre Bonnaterre. The genus name is an abbreviation of the genus Coturnix. The specific epithet suscitator is Latin and means "awakening".<p>Sixteen subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Turnix suscitator
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Turnicidae
- Genus
- Turnix
Range and habitat
The species occurs throughout India up to elevations of about 2500 m in the Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines and most of Southeast Asia. There are four geographical races that differ somewhat in colour. It is found in most habitats except dense forest and desert, in particular, scrub jungle, light deciduous forest and farmlands.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the barred buttonquail is evaluated as being of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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White-tailed Swallow
Hirundo megaensis
A small swallow with white underparts and dark blue upperparts. The tail shows an unusual pattern: a dark rim around large white panels both above and below. Found very locally in southern Ethiopia in open thorn savanna, in areas with many large termite mounds. Often in pairs. Similar to Gray-rumped Swallow, but easily separated by the white in the tail. Could be confused with Common House Martin, but has white in the tail rather than a bold rump patch.
Spot-breasted Woodpecker
Colaptes punctigula
Attractive medium-sized woodpecker, golden-olive overall with bold black spotting on body and wings. Striking face pattern with red nape, black forecrown, white cheek, and checkered throat. Males also show red mustache; sexes otherwise similar. Widespread but usually uncommon; found in a variety of open forested habitats and edges, including scrubby second growth and gardens. Most frequently heard call is a series of peeping notes, “pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi.”
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