button quail

button quail
1. any of several birds of the family Turnicidae, of warmer parts of the Old World, resembling but not related to the true quail. Also called bustard quail, hemipode.
2. the blue-breasted quail, Coturnix chinensis.
[1880-85]

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bird
also called  Bustard Quail,  
 any of numerous small, round-bodied birds belonging to the family Turnicidae of the order Gruiformes. The 15 species are confined to scrubby grasslands in warm regions of the Old World. Button quail are dull-coloured birds, 13 to 19 centimetres (5 to 7 inches) long, that run crouching and zigzagging through the grass but are capable of weak whirring flight on their short rounded wings. Button quail usually go about singly or in pairs; they may join flocks of true quails.

      Females, larger and more strongly patterned than males, do the courting and nest building. Males are much less vocal. They incubate the eggs and care for the young. The females mate with several different males in a single season, running off as soon as the eggs are laid. The incubation period, 12 or 13 days, is the shortest known for any precocial bird. The young are independent within two weeks, undergo two rapid molts, are full sized in six or seven weeks, and may breed when less than three months old.

      The most widely distributed species is the striped button quail, or Andalusian hemipode (Turnix sylvatica). It occurs in southern Spain, Africa, and southeastern Asia to the Philippines. The red-backed button quail (T. maculosa) is its counterpart in the Australo-Papuan region. The Andalusian hemipode, 15 cm (6 in.) long, has streaked, reddish-gray upperparts and pale underparts with an orange breast patch and black-spotted sides. The sexes look much alike. In the barred, or common, button quail (T. suscitator) of India and eastward, females are black-throated in breeding season. The northernmost species, ranging from India to Manchuria, is T. tanki, called yellow-legged, Indian, or Chinese button quail.

      Another bird of the button-quail family is the lark quail (Ortyxelos meiffrenii), of arid African plains. It looks more like a lark than a quail; having longer wings than other button quails, it is a stronger flier. It is about 13 cm (5 in.) long.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Button quail — Quail Quail, n. [OF. quaille, F. caille, LL. quaquila, qualia, qualea, of Dutch or German origin; cf. D. kwakkel, kwartel, OHG. wahtala, G. wachtel.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any gallinaceous bird belonging to {Coturnix} and several allied… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • button quail — n. any of a family (Turnicidae) of small gruiform birds that resemble quail and live in the warm regions of the Old World …   English World dictionary

  • button quail — noun small quail like terrestrial bird of southern Eurasia and northern Africa that lacks a hind toe; classified with wading birds but inhabits grassy plains • Syn: ↑button quail, ↑bustard quail, ↑hemipode • Hypernyms: ↑wading bird, ↑wader • Hypo …   Useful english dictionary

  • button-quail — noun small quail like terrestrial bird of southern Eurasia and northern Africa that lacks a hind toe; classified with wading birds but inhabits grassy plains • Syn: ↑button quail, ↑bustard quail, ↑hemipode • Hypernyms: ↑wading bird, ↑wader • Hypo …   Useful english dictionary

  • button quail — /ˈbʌtn kweɪl / (say butn kwayl) noun any of various birds of the family Turnicidae resembling quails but distinguished by the absence of the hind toe, as the little button quail, Turnix velox, found throughout continental Australia except in… …  

  • button quail — tikrosios tripirštės statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Turnix angl. button quail vok. Laufhühnchen, n rus. трёхперстка, f pranc. turnix, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – tripirštiniai siauresnis terminas – didžioji tripirštė… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • button-quail — but·ton quail (bŭtʹn kwāl ) n. Any of various small, quail like Old World birds of the family Turnicidae that lack a hind toe and are related to the crane and the bustard. * * * …   Universalium

  • button-quail — noun a small quail like bird related to the rails. [Genus Turnix: several species.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • button quail — but′ton quail n. orn any of various terrestrial birds of the family Turnicidae, inhabiting warmer parts of the Old World, that resemble but are not related to true quails • Etymology: 1880–85 …   From formal English to slang

  • button quail — noun Date: 1885 any of a family (Turnicidae) of small terrestrial Old World birds that resemble quails and have only three toes on a foot with the hind toe being absent …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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