Spotted Buttonquail

Description:

Spotted buttonquail are approximately 17.8 cm in length (Finn, 1911). Wing length ranges from 88 to 102 mm for males and 97 to 111 mm for females. Male tail length ranges from 35 to 41 mm and tarsal length is 27 to 28 mm. For females, tail length is 43 to 46 mm and tarsal length is 28 to 30 mm. The weight of one bird was found to be 110 g (Madge and McGowan, 2002). The more colorful female is gray-brown with mottled rufous and/or black above, a colored chestnut breast, buff abdomen, and yellow legs and bill (Finn, 1911). There is a chestnut collar across the upper back, whitish streaks on the back (which appear as four longitudinal stripes) and black spots on the wings bordered by buff forming "ocelli" (Delacour and Mayr, 1946). Immature birds have buff breasts with feathers tipped in black (Ogilvie-Grant, 1889). (Delacour and Mayr, 1946; Finn, 1911; Madge and McGowan, 2002; Ogilvie-Grant, 1889)

Habitat:

Spotted buttonquail prefer grasslands with a few scattered bushes and are often found at the edge of ravines. They inhabit lowlands and can be found as high as 1800 m (Delacour and Mayr, 1946) to 2200m (Madge and McGowan, 2002) in areas with with oak and pine forests (Johnsgard, 1991). Turnix ocellatus may also be found in gardens or at the edge of bamboo forests (Madge and McGowan, 2002). (Delacour and Mayr, 1946; Johnsgard, 1991; Madge and McGowan, 2002)Spotted buttonquail are found in and are endemic to Luzon, Phillipines (Finn, 1911; Delacour and Mayr, 1946). Very recently, they were found on Negros Island (Madge and McGowan, 2002). (Delacour and Mayr, 1946; Finn, 1911; Madge and McGowan, 2002)