What's in a name?
The Button Quail, as we call it in the United States, has been known by many different names over the years. Depending on your geography, you might know this little bird as the Chinese Painted Quail, Chinese or Asian Blue Breasted Quail, or one of my favorites, the King Quail.
Scientifically speaking this bird belongs to the Coturnix family of quail, and is known by either Excalifactoria Chinensis, or by the name Coturnix Chinensis. There have been conflicting statements through the years over which is the proper designation, but the most recent writings suggest that Excalifactoria Chinensis is the winner of the button quail name game.
To make matters more confusing, our little button quail, is not actually a "true" Button Quail. There exists a completely different group of birds which belong to the genus Turnix, and includes 15 different species of "true" button quail. If that isn't enough, these birds of the genus Turnix are not even quail at all.
So, we have "button quail" which aren't actually "true" button quail, and we have "true" button quail which aren't actually even quail. These birds of the genus Turnix are more closely related to cranes and rails, and lack the hind toe which is present in our little quail. Furthermore, Wikipedia suggests that these birds actually belong to the order of shorebirds, the Charadriiformes.
In any case, today, on this website, they are called Button Quail.
A Real Looker:
At a mere five inches long, the button quail is the smallest of all of the quail species. Males of the species are generally smaller and more slender than the females. This is most evident when viewing them from above as the females will have a rounder, fuller appearance from front to back than the males. Males and females of the normal wild coloration are sexually dimorphic and easily distinguished. Males possess striking black and white markings in the facial area, bluish grey coloration on the breast and sides, met by burnt red feathering on the underparts back to the tail. The back of the male is a combination of brown and black with lighter longitudinal stripes, creating a beautiful pattern that upon close observation is readily appreciated. The female coloration comprises various shades of brown mixed with black, also possessing similar longitudinal stripes on the back. This combination of earthy tones serves the female well as camouflage. Together, these birds make a beautiful pair.
History of the Button Quail:
Native to China, these birds had been kept as good luck charms in private gardens and aviaries, presumably for hundreds of years. European tourists took notice of them in the late 1800's and soon brought them into Europe where they were given the name Chinese Painted Quail. During World War II, American soldiers in Europe were attracted to these birds, giving them a new nickname, the Button Quail. Shortly thereafter, the button quail found itself on a ship bound for America.
Button Quail Habitat:
In the wild, these birds would be found in grasslands and brushy areas, at lower elevations, near a source of water such as a rice field or a stream. Living entirely on the ground, they fly only when startled, and although infrequent, these birds are capable of impressive bursts of vertical, then horizontal flight. I have personally seen one fly out of my back yard, over a six foot fence, landing sixty feet away on the other side. It took me a while, but I finally caught her when she got tangled in some tall grass.
A button quail's natural diet would consist of various grass seeds, grass, and insects, as well as anything else that might look tasty to them. Their nests are loosely constructed of small twigs and bits of grass. They will often pile nesting material into a small mound with built up sides to create a depression for the eggs. A button quail hen will normally lay up to five greenish-brown eggs before incubating them for sixteen days. During this time the male will protect his mate and her eggs, then once the chicks have hatched, both the male and the female will tend to the young birds, teaching them the ways of life.
In the wild, button quail normally live in separate pairs, unlike other types of quail which run in groups, such as the Valley quail which are native to my home state of Washington.
In Captivity:
Since being introduced into Europe and the US, the button quail has grown in popularity due to to several factors including:
The Button Quail, as we call it in the United States, has been known by many different names over the years. Depending on your geography, you might know this little bird as the Chinese Painted Quail, Chinese or Asian Blue Breasted Quail, or one of my favorites, the King Quail.
Scientifically speaking this bird belongs to the Coturnix family of quail, and is known by either Excalifactoria Chinensis, or by the name Coturnix Chinensis. There have been conflicting statements through the years over which is the proper designation, but the most recent writings suggest that Excalifactoria Chinensis is the winner of the button quail name game.
To make matters more confusing, our little button quail, is not actually a "true" Button Quail. There exists a completely different group of birds which belong to the genus Turnix, and includes 15 different species of "true" button quail. If that isn't enough, these birds of the genus Turnix are not even quail at all.
So, we have "button quail" which aren't actually "true" button quail, and we have "true" button quail which aren't actually even quail. These birds of the genus Turnix are more closely related to cranes and rails, and lack the hind toe which is present in our little quail. Furthermore, Wikipedia suggests that these birds actually belong to the order of shorebirds, the Charadriiformes.
In any case, today, on this website, they are called Button Quail.
A Real Looker:
At a mere five inches long, the button quail is the smallest of all of the quail species. Males of the species are generally smaller and more slender than the females. This is most evident when viewing them from above as the females will have a rounder, fuller appearance from front to back than the males. Males and females of the normal wild coloration are sexually dimorphic and easily distinguished. Males possess striking black and white markings in the facial area, bluish grey coloration on the breast and sides, met by burnt red feathering on the underparts back to the tail. The back of the male is a combination of brown and black with lighter longitudinal stripes, creating a beautiful pattern that upon close observation is readily appreciated. The female coloration comprises various shades of brown mixed with black, also possessing similar longitudinal stripes on the back. This combination of earthy tones serves the female well as camouflage. Together, these birds make a beautiful pair.
History of the Button Quail:
Native to China, these birds had been kept as good luck charms in private gardens and aviaries, presumably for hundreds of years. European tourists took notice of them in the late 1800's and soon brought them into Europe where they were given the name Chinese Painted Quail. During World War II, American soldiers in Europe were attracted to these birds, giving them a new nickname, the Button Quail. Shortly thereafter, the button quail found itself on a ship bound for America.
Button Quail Habitat:
In the wild, these birds would be found in grasslands and brushy areas, at lower elevations, near a source of water such as a rice field or a stream. Living entirely on the ground, they fly only when startled, and although infrequent, these birds are capable of impressive bursts of vertical, then horizontal flight. I have personally seen one fly out of my back yard, over a six foot fence, landing sixty feet away on the other side. It took me a while, but I finally caught her when she got tangled in some tall grass.
A button quail's natural diet would consist of various grass seeds, grass, and insects, as well as anything else that might look tasty to them. Their nests are loosely constructed of small twigs and bits of grass. They will often pile nesting material into a small mound with built up sides to create a depression for the eggs. A button quail hen will normally lay up to five greenish-brown eggs before incubating them for sixteen days. During this time the male will protect his mate and her eggs, then once the chicks have hatched, both the male and the female will tend to the young birds, teaching them the ways of life.
In the wild, button quail normally live in separate pairs, unlike other types of quail which run in groups, such as the Valley quail which are native to my home state of Washington.
In Captivity:
Since being introduced into Europe and the US, the button quail has grown in popularity due to to several factors including:
- Their small size
- Their striking appearance
- The variety of colors and patterns to choose from
- Their simple requirements for housing and care
- Their ability to coexist well with other species
- Their relatively low cost of purchase
- The ease with which they are bred and raised
- The effectiveness of incubator hatching
- The educational value in the avian life cycle process
- The simple pleasure of keeping button quail
