Geographic Range
These birds are found from India to Manchuria, Taiwan, and Hainan. They are also found
in Myanmar (Finn, 1911; Rutgers and Norris, 1970) and the Nicobar and Andaman Islands
(Johnsgard, 1991).
Habitat
Yellow-legged buttonquail prefer open sandy ground with patches of short, rough grass.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
Physical Description
Females are larger than males, with a wing length of 79 to 93 mm. They are grayish-brown above. The collar is rufous, and the forehead and sides of the head are buff, tipped with black. The chin and mid-throat areas are whitish-buff, and the sides of the throat, chest, and breast are a rufous-buff. The crown is black and edged in buff, sometimes with a buff stripe down the middle of the head. The back, rump, upper tail coverts and feathers capping the wings are irregularly barred with fine dark brown to black markings and flecks of rufous. Primary coverts are blackish-brown, narrowly edged in buff. The rest of the coverts are buff with a subterminal black spot. The flanks and belly are whitish; most of the feathers on the sides of the chest and breast have a small subterminal round black spot. The iris may be straw-yellow to whitish. The beak is a reddish brown on top and chrome-yellow on the bottom. The legs and feet are chrome-yellow in color, and give this bird its common name.
The male, with a wing length of 71 to 84 mm, does not have the rufous collar, but has more of the black spotting on his upper parts than the female. The iris is whitish, the beak is a brownish color, and the legs and feet are a yellowish color.
At seven weeks of age, the chicks have adult plumage. In addition, the iris changes from a blackish color to a whitish color.
Adults weigh from 35 to 113 g.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- female larger
- sexes colored or patterned differently
Reproduction
During the breeding season, the female utters a low-pitched booming whistle. The call has been described as a "guuk-guuk, guuk," which is repeated and can be heard at a distance of 100 m. After the first two notes are uttered, there is a pause, then louder notes or hoots are produced. After about the fifth repetition, the call becomes a moan that increases in intensity. While the female calls she bows her head and slightly droops her wings.
During courtship, the female will lower her breast to touch the ground with her tail pointing upward. She may make soft clucking sounds, while holding an insect in her beak for the male, in a tidbitting fashion.
All buttonquail are polyandrous.
- Mating System
- polyandrous
Breeding begins in March. The nest may be domed and is made of hay or grasses in a
shallow hollow in the ground. There are three eggs per clutch; the eggs hatch in only
12 days. The eggs are 23 mm by 18 mm and weigh 3 to 9 g. At ten days old, the chicks
are able to fly.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
The males are responsible for feeding the chicks.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
-
pre-hatching/birth
- protecting
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
We do not have information on lifespan/longevity for this species at this time.
Behavior
These buttonquail are rarely found in groups.
Home Range
We do not have information on home range for this species at this time.
Communication and Perception
During the breeding season, the female utters a low-pitched booming whistle. The call has been described as a "guuk-guuk, guuk," which is repeated and can be heard at a distance of 100 m. After the first two notes are uttered, there is a pause, then louder notes or hoots are produced. After about the fifth repetition, the call becomes a moan that increases in intensity. While calling, the female bows her head and slightly droops her wings.
During courtship, the female will lower her breast to touch the ground with her tail
pointing upward. She may make soft clucking sounds, while holding an insect in her
beak for the male, in a tidbitting fashion. The male utters a similar tidbitting call
when he has food for the chicks.
Food Habits
Yellow-legged buttonquail feed on grain, grass seeds, green shoots from crops, ants,
beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects.
- Primary Diet
- omnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- seeds, grains, and nuts
Predation
We do not have informaton on predation for this species at this time.
Ecosystem Roles
Yellow-legged buttonquail have an impact on the populations of prey they consume and the plants they eat.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Yellow-legged buttonquail may eat insects that are harmful to humans and/or crops.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Although yellow-legged buttonquail eat green shoots from crops, they have not been reported to be harmful to those crops.
Conservation Status
Turnix tanki are not listed by either CITES or the IUCN.
Other Comments
Yellow-legged buttonquail were first bred in captivity in 1903 by Seth-Smith.
Additional Links
Contributors
Alaine Camfield (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Janice Pappas (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- 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.
- polyandrous
-
Referring to a mating system in which a female mates with several males during one breeding season (compare polygynous).
- 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).
- 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
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
- 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.
- 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.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Finn, F. 1911. Game Birds of India and Asia . Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.
Hopkinson, E. 1926. Records of Birds Bred in Captivity . London: H.F. & G. Witherby.
Johnsgard, P. 1991. Bustards, Hemipodes, and Sandgrouse: Birds of Dry Places . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rutgers, A., K. Norris. 1970. Encyclopedia of Aviculture, Vol. 1 . London: Blandford Press.