Wildlifeof Thailand
Common Buttonquail
Turnicidae
Photo: (c) Aditya Rao, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Turnix sylvaticus
Basic stats
Diet
Seeds and invertebrates
Habitat
Dry grassland, scrub and cultivation
Range
Africa, southern Europe and Asia
Size
15–19cm
The common buttonquail is a small, compact ground bird with cryptic sandy-brown plumage and no hind toe. Females are larger and more strongly marked than males. It occupies dry grassland, scrub and cultivation from Africa and southern Europe across Asia, feeding on seeds and invertebrates. Females advertise and mate with multiple males; males alone incubate and care for the precocial chicks (Wikipedia, general species account). It is Nationally Near Threatened (Thailand Red Data 2025).
Quick answers
- What does the Common Buttonquail eat?
- Seeds and invertebrates
- What habitat does the Common Buttonquail live in?
- Dry grassland, scrub and cultivation
- Where is the Common Buttonquail found?
- Africa, southern Europe and Asia
- How big is the Common Buttonquail?
- 15–19cm