Bird Album
Common Buttonquail
Turnix sylvaticus (Desfontaines, 1789)
15 cmLength53 gWeight
This small bird prefers running on the ground to taking flight.
Most records: South Africa, Cambodia, Uganda
How to identify
Field marks
- Upperparts sandy-brown with streaks
- Underparts pale yellow; flanks with black markings
- Face unmarked
- One white stripe on the gray wings in flight
Male, female and young
Sexes similar; juvenile has more spots on the underparts.
Voice
Female gives a low “hoom-hoom-hoom”, answered by male with “kek-kek-kek”.
Where and when it's recorded
Most records: South Africa, Cambodia, Uganda
Common Buttonquail has been recorded at 254 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 30 countries and regions.
Records by month Southern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Bengal Florican ReserveCambodia204 records
- Queen Elizabeth II NP – Kasenyi TrackUganda154 records
- Phinda GR – AirfieldSouth Africa102 records
More places
- Prolay grasslandsCambodia100 records
- Queen Elizabeth II NPUganda70 records
- Ang Trapeang ThmorCambodia50 records
- Aga Khan University – Loilenok Hills and FieldsTanzania45 records
- Maasai Mara NR – Mara TriangleKenya43 records
- Nairobi NPKenya41 records
- Benfontein NRSouth Africa40 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The common buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus), also called Kurrichane buttonquail and Andalusian hemipode, is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds that resemble but are not closely related to the true quails.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Common Buttonquail?
The Common Buttonquail is about 15 cm long and weighs around 53 g.
Where does the Common Buttonquail live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic, Africa, Oriental: widespread. It is most often recorded in South Africa, Cambodia and Uganda.
Is the Common Buttonquail endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Common Buttonquail as Least Concern.
What does the Common Buttonquail eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Common Buttonquail in?
It belongs to the family Buttonquail (Turnicidae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 15 cm
- Weight
- 53 g
- Habitat
- Shrubland
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 84 mm
- Tail
- 42 mm
- Bill
- 14 mm
- Tarsus
- 22 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic, Africa, Oriental: widespread
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 1
- Turnix sylvaticus davidi c Thailand to s China, n Indochina and Taiwan (China)
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Buttonquail Turnicidae
- Genus
- Turnix
Other birds in the genus Turnix
Yellow-legged ButtonquailTurnix tanki
Red-backed ButtonquailTurnix maculosus
Barred ButtonquailTurnix suscitator
Spotted ButtonquailTurnix ocellatus
Little ButtonquailTurnix velox
Red-chested ButtonquailTurnix pyrrhothorax
Luzon ButtonquailTurnix worcesteri
Sumba ButtonquailTurnix everetti
Black-rumped ButtonquailTurnix nanus
Fynbos ButtonquailTurnix hottentottus
Chestnut-backed ButtonquailTurnix castanotus
Buff-breasted ButtonquailTurnix olivii
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by William Stephens. ↗
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