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Turnix hottentottusblack-rumped buttonquail

By Janice Pappas

Ge­o­graphic Range

Hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail range from Ghana and Cameroon east to Uganda and Kenya and south to the north­east­ern part of An­gola and Cape Province (Johns­gard, 1991). Some sub­species may range as far west as Sierra Leone and as far north as Sudan (Clancy, 1967). These birds are mi­gra­tory and win­ter in the Sahel zone just below the Sa­hara (Johns­gard, 1991). (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1991)

Habi­tat

Hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail are found in grass­lands and on the fringes of marshes where the grass is less dense. They are also found on scrub lands with thin stands of grasses and low bushes as well as fal­low fields and gar­dens (Clancy, 1967). These but­ton­quail are adapted to arid re­gions (Johns­gard, 1991). (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1991)

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

On av­er­age, fe­male hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail are 15 cm long, and males are 14 cm long. They weigh be­tween 40 and 62 g. Fe­males are black above with ru­fous mot­tling. Most of the feath­ers of the crown are back and edged in white. The rump and upper tail feath­ers are black. The rest of the head, the sides of the throat, and upper breast are buff, while the feath­ers cap­ping the wings are a golden buff color. Feath­ers on the sides of the neck and breast are barred with black and white. Wing coverts are brown­ish-black and the outer pri­maries have a par­tial buff mar­gin; the wing feath­ers are mot­tled with light red, buff and white, and barred with black. Wing tips are white. The lower breast and ab­domen are buff grad­ing to white. There are heavy black­ish-brown spots on the breast, over the sides of the body and on the flanks. (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1991)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • female larger
  • Range mass
    40 to 62 g
    1.41 to 2.19 oz
  • Range length
    14 to 15 cm
    5.51 to 5.91 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

All but­ton­quail are polyan­drous.

Breed­ing oc­curs dur­ing or just after the rainy sea­son. Mat­ing oc­curs in South Africa from Oc­to­ber to Jan­u­ary, in Zim­babwe from Sep­tem­ber to Feb­ru­ary, in Malawi in April, in Nige­ria in De­cem­ber and Jan­u­ary, and in Kenya from May to July and Oc­to­ber (Johns­gard, 1991).

The nest is a scrape (Clancy, 1967) or a scant pad of grass blades on the ground, under the canopy of a green or dried grass tuft (Johns­gard, 1991). Clutch size is two to six eggs; males in­cu­bate for 12 to 14 days (Johns­gard, 1991). The eggs are pyri­form in shape, yel­low­ish with light and dark brown speck­les, and are 23 to 25 mm by 17 to 20 mm (Clancy, 1967). (Clancy, 1967; Johns­gard, 1991)

  • Breeding season
    Breeding occurs during or just after the rainy season.
  • Range eggs per season
    2 to 6
  • Range time to hatching
    12 to 14 days

Male hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail in­cu­bate the eggs for 12 to 14 days. (Johns­gard, 1991)

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • protecting
      • male

Lifes­pan/Longevity

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on lifes­pan/longevity for this species at this time.

Be­hav­ior

Lit­tle is known about this but­ton­quail since it is un­com­mon in its na­tive habi­tat (Clancy, 1967). (Clancy, 1967)

Home Range

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on home range for this species at this time.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

The fe­males utter a se­ries of low-pitched, "hoo" notes that res­onate. (Johns­gard, 1991)

Food Habits

Hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail eat grasses, weeds, in­sects and their lar­vae, and other in­ver­te­brates. (Clancy, 1967)

  • Animal Foods
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • Plant Foods
  • leaves

Pre­da­tion

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on pre­da­tion for this species at this time.

Ecosys­tem Roles

Hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail have an im­pact on the prey and plants they eat.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

As a re­sult of their food habits, these but­ton­quail may help con­trol weed and in­sect pests.

  • Positive Impacts
  • controls pest population

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no known ad­verse af­fects of hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail on hu­mans.

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Hot­ten­tot but­ton­quail are not listed by ei­ther the IUCN or CITES.

Con­trib­u­tors

Alaine Cam­field (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Jan­ice Pap­pas (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Ethiopian

living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

polyandrous

Referring to a mating system in which a female mates with several males during one breeding season (compare polygynous).

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

Clancy, P. 1967. Game­birds of South­ern Africa. Cape Town: Pur­nell & Sons Ltd.

Johns­gard, P. 1991. Bus­tards, Hemipodes, and Sand­grouse: Birds of Dry Places. Ox­ford: Ox­ford Uni­ver­sity Press.

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Classification

Classification

  • Kingdom Animalia animals
  • Phylum Chordata chordates
  • Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
  • Class Aves birds
  • Order Turniciformes buttonquail
  • Family Turnicidae buttonquail
  • Genus Turnix buttonquail
  • Species Turnix hottentottus black-rumped buttonquail