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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 72(1)

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

Patrick T. D. Webster https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5719-5967 A B * , N. P. Leseberg https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6233-2236 A , S. A. Murphy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7008-6303 A B and J. E. M. Watson https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4942-1984 A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Research and Recovery of Endangered Species, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

B Conservation Partners, PO Box 93, Malanda, Qld 4885, Australia.

* Correspondence to: p.webster@uq.edu.au

Handling Editor: Brad Law

Australian Journal of Zoology 72, ZO23039 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO23039
Submitted: 12 October 2023  Accepted: 23 May 2024  Published: 27 June 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

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.

Keywords: button-quail, habitat use, natural history, painted button-quail, spatial ecology, Turnix, wildlife management.

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