Retaining the ‘art’: Painted Button-quail Turnix varius do make platelets in north-eastern Queensland

Webster, Patrick; Murphy, Stephen; Leseberg, Nicholas P.; Watson, James

doi:10.20938/afo39206210

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…At the fourth site, this was confirmed by an advertising oom vocalisation of a female Painted Button-quail recorded on an ARU (Figure 2). At all sites where Painted Button-quail were found, platelets were detected in the immediate area (Webster et al 2022a).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Sites that were surveyed were traversed on foot. Particular attention was paid to the substrate for the presence of scratched platelets -scratches in the substrate formed by foraging button-quail -a reliable method of detecting button-quail (McConnell & Hobson 1995;Webster & Stoetzel 2021;Webster et al 2022a). At sites where platelets were detected, three methods were used to determine the species present.…”

Section: Methods and Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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New records of Painted Button-quail Turnix varius in North Queensland suggest a distribution through southern and central Cape York Peninsula

Webster¹,

Leseberg²,

Murphy³

et al. 2022

AFO

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The current ornithological literature describes the Painted Button-quail Turnix varius having a distribution in Queensland that reaches its northern limit around Cooktown. North of Cooktown, the species is thought to be replaced by the Buff-breasted Button-quail T. olivii in savanna habitats of Cape York Peninsula. Here we present observations of Painted Button-quail at four locations throughout southern and central Cape York Peninsula, representing a northern range extension of at least ~150 km. Breeding was confirmed at one location. Whether these observations represent a recent northern expansion or a portion of their distribution that has until now been unrealised is uncertain. In addition, we present four skins and a clutch of eggs labelled as Painted Button-quail collected on Cape York Peninsula that have remained absent from current literature, although we argue that one specimen is inaccurate and the others need to be treated cautiously. This northern range extension for the Painted Button-quail has implications for reports of Buff-breasted Button-quail from Cape York Peninsula.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Methods and Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

New records of Painted Button-quail Turnix varius in North Queensland suggest a distribution through southern and central Cape York Peninsula

Webster¹,

Leseberg²,

Murphy³

et al. 2022

AFO

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Movements and habitat use of painted button-quail, Turnix varius, in tropical savanna of northern Queensland

Webster,

Leseberg,

Murphy

et al. 2024

Aust. J. Zool.

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Despite painted button-quail, Turnix varius, being one of Australia’s most common and widespread button-quail, knowledge of the species’ habitat use and movements is poor, and largely based on incidental observations. We GPS tracked eight painted button-quail individuals near Mareeba in northern Queensland during both dry (May to June 2020) and wet (January to February 2021) seasons. We found no evidence of nomadic or migratory movements; individuals occupied small home ranges (1.38–10.3 ha) and the species was present year-round. Differences in home-range size were detected between sexes and between seasons, likely reflecting the species’ polyandrous mating system. In both wet and dry seasons, painted button-quail occupied open savanna with a groundcover of native perennial tussock grasses. The home ranges of all tracked birds were associated mostly with ridges and slopes, although some use of alluvial flats was observed. The presence of perennial tussock grasses was consistent across the areas used by tracked individuals. In contrast to anecdotal reports, painted button-quail utilised areas with open groundcover (as low as 5% groundcover vegetation) as well as areas of dense cover (95% groundcover vegetation). Given that this is the first GPS-based movement study of any button-quail species, our findings provide potentially important insights into the daily and annual movements of this cryptic genus.

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Retaining the ‘art’: Painted Button-quail Turnix varius do make platelets in north-eastern Queensland

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

New records of Painted Button-quail Turnix varius in North Queensland suggest a distribution through southern and central Cape York Peninsula

New records of Painted Button-quail Turnix varius in North Queensland suggest a distribution through southern and central Cape York Peninsula

Movements and habitat use of painted button-quail, Turnix varius, in tropical savanna of northern Queensland

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