Turnicidae – Buttonquails

The Turnicidae (Buttonquails) family is related to the waders, but meritting its own family. The order Charadriiformes also includes Pluvianellidae (Magellanic Plover), Chionidae  (Sheathbills), Burhinidae (Thick-knees & Stone Curlews), Pluvianidae (Egyptian Plover), Ibidorhynchidae (Ibisbill), Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers), Recurvirostridae (Stilts & Avocets), Charadriidae (Plovers & Lapwings), Pedionomidae (Plains Wanderer), Thinocoridae (Seedsnipes), Rostratulidae (Painted Snipe), Jacanidae (Jacanas), Scolopacidae (Sandpipers), Dromadidae (Crab-Plover), Glareolidae (Coursers & Pratincoles), Stercorariidae (Skuas), Alcidae (Auks) and Laridae (Gulls, Terns & Skimmers). It contains two genera, although all but one bird are part of the Turnix genus.

They resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. They inhabit warm grasslands in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. There are 17 species in two genera, with just one being found in the genus Ortyxelos.

Madagascan Buttonquail Turnix nigricollis – ©Dubi Shapiro

Buttonquails are small, drab, running birds, which avoid flying. The female is the more richly-coloured of the sexes, and initiates courtship. While the Quail-plover is thought to be monogamous, Turnix buttonquails are sequentially polyandrous; both sexes cooperate in building a nest in the earth, but normally only the male incubates the eggs and tends the young, while the female may go on to mate with other males. The eggs hatch after an incubation period of 12 or 13 days, and the young fly within two weeks.

A group of small terrestrial birds; the smallest species is the Quail-plover, which is 10cm in length and weighs only 20g.

Little Buttonquail Turnix velox – ©JJ Harrison CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The buttonquails in the genus Turnix range from 12cm to 23cm in length and weigh between 30g and 130g. They superficially resemble the true quails of the genus Coturnix, but differ from them in lacking a hind toe and a crop. The females of this family also possess a unique vocal organ created by an enlarged trachea and inflatable bulb in the oesophagus, which they use to produce a booming call.