- Turnix suscitator
Identification
- Boldly patterned head
- Barred underparts
- Greyish legs and feet, yellowish in some subspecies
- Females are brighter and larger than males. They have a black throat and in some subspecies a rufous collar
The different subspecis vary in size and in patterns and coloration of plumage.
Distribution
Asia: China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Japan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Lesser Sundas, Bali
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
- T. s. taigoor - India
- T. s. leggei - Sri Lanka
- T. s. plumbipes - Nepal, Sikkim and Bangladesh to northern Burma
- T. s. bengalensis - North-eastern India (lower western Bengal)
- T. s. okinavensis - Southern Kyushu Island and Makenoshima Island south to Ryukyu Islands
- T. s. rostratus - Taiwan
- T. s. blakistoni - Burma to southern China, northern Indochina and Hainan Island
- T. s. pallescens - South-central Burma
- T. s. thai - Central Thailand
- T. s. interrumpens - Peninsular Myanmar and Thailand
- T. s. atrogularis - Peninsula Malaysia
- T. s. suscitator - Sumatra, Belitung Island and Bangka Island to Java and Bali
- T. s. baweanus - Bawean Island (off Java)
- T. s. fasciatus - Northern Philippines (Luzon to Mindoro, Sibuyan and Masbate)
- T. s. haynaldi - South-western Philippines (Palawan and Calamian Islands)
- T. s. nigrescens - Philippines (Negros, Cebu and Panay)
- T. s. rufilatus - Sulawesi
- T. s. powelli - "Powell's Buttonquail"; Lesser Sundas
Three additional subspecies: kuiperi, machetes and baweanus are generally considered invalid.[2]
Habitat
Grasslands and scrub.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes insects and seeds.
Breeding
The female builds a grass-lined ground nest, in scrub jungle or crops.
The male incubates the 3 or 4, greyish white eggs, which are heavily speckled with reddish brown or blackish purple, and cares for the young. The female may have several different mates during the season.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Barred Buttonquail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Barred_Buttonquail
