Abrolhos Painted Button-quail
Encyclopedia
The Abrolhos Painted Button-quail (Turnix varius scintillans) is a subspecies of the Painted Buttonquail
endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos
. It is common on North Island
, and also occurs on other islands of the Wallabi Group
, namely East Wallabi
, West Wallabi
, Seagull and Pigeon
Islands. It lives amongst dunes and sand flats covered with Spinifex
, saltbush and samphire
, and avoids areas of limestone pavement
. It obtains food by scratching in the surface soil. It breeds from April to October. Its nest is a scrape in loose soil about ten centimetres wide and two centimetres deep, beneath vegetation.
The first recorded sighting of the bird by Europeans was during the third voyage of HMS Beagle
. On 22 May 1840, the crew of the ship landed at North Island, which John Lort Stokes
described thus: Five years later, the subspecies was formally published by John Gould
.
The subspecies is listed as "vulnerable" under the federal EPBC Act, and as "fauna which is rare, or likely to become extinct" under Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
. Islands where it breeds are considered to have a high conservation value.
Painted Buttonquail
Painted Button quail, Turnix varius, is a species of button quail, the family Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. This species is resident in Australia....
endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos
Houtman Abrolhos
The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands, and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. Nominally located at , it lies about eighty kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia...
. It is common on North Island
North Island (Houtman Abrolhos)
North Island is the northernmost island in the Houtman Abrolhos, a coral reef archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mid West Western Australia. Located about 14 km from the nearest island group, it is one of the largest islands in the Houtman Abrolhos, and one of the few to support...
, and also occurs on other islands of the Wallabi Group
Wallabi Group
The Wallabi Group is the northern-most group of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos. Nominally located at , it is 58 kilometres from the Australian mainland, and about 9 kilometres from the Easter Group....
, namely East Wallabi
East Wallabi Island
East Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, located in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia.-History:East Wallabi Island played an important role in the story of the Batavia shipwreck and massacre...
, West Wallabi
West Wallabi Island
West Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, located in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia.-History:...
, Seagull and Pigeon
Pigeon Island (Houtman Abrolhos)
Pigeon Island is a small island located need the middle of the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, an archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. It is almost entirely given over to Western Rock Lobster fishers' camps, and as a result is far more disturbed than most other islands in the...
Islands. It lives amongst dunes and sand flats covered with Spinifex
Spinifex
Spinifex may refer to:* Spinifex , a genus of grass which is indigenous to the coastal areas of Australasia and Indonesia* Triodia , a hummock grass of arid Australia, covering twenty percent of the Australian continent ** Spinifex resin* Spinifex people, or Pila Nguru, an Australian...
, saltbush and samphire
Samphire
Samphire is a name given to a number of very different edible plants that happen to grow in coastal areas.*Rock samphire, Crithmum maritimum is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in the United Kingdom...
, and avoids areas of limestone pavement
Limestone pavement
A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK where many of these landforms have developed distinctive surface patterning resembling block of paving...
. It obtains food by scratching in the surface soil. It breeds from April to October. Its nest is a scrape in loose soil about ten centimetres wide and two centimetres deep, beneath vegetation.
The first recorded sighting of the bird by Europeans was during the third voyage of HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
. On 22 May 1840, the crew of the ship landed at North Island, which John Lort Stokes
John Lort Stokes
Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN was an officer in the Royal Navy who travelled on HMS Beagle for close to eighteen years.Stokes grew up in Scotchwell near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He joined the Navy on 20 September 1824...
described thus: Five years later, the subspecies was formally published by John Gould
John Gould
John Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
.
The subspecies is listed as "vulnerable" under the federal EPBC Act, and as "fauna which is rare, or likely to become extinct" under Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna....
. Islands where it breeds are considered to have a high conservation value.