#buttonquail

[best-bird-tournament]

Lari suborder

Which is the best bird?

Burchell's courser

Atlantic puffin

Great skua

Little buttonquail

Ross's gull

Crab-plover

Black skimmer

Black noddy

Long-tailed jaeger

Quail-plover

Voting ended onJan 7

[herpsandbirds]

Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator), female, ON THE RUN, family Turnicidae, order Galliformes, Singapore

photograph by Chang Fu Wen

[coffeenuts]

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Buttonquails: I'm a seabird! Scientists: but... you look like quail Buttonquails: IM A SEABIRD

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Button quail?

Have you seen a buttonquail (Family: Turnicidae)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onDec 2, 2024

[chanterelle-clan]

Happy Mother’s Day!

For a treat, here’s the explanation of the INCIDENT with Wren and Button! Enjoy!

———————————————————

TW: Death, Harm to animals, GORE, Distressing situations

Wren started the day with a sharp pain. Along with the realization that her kits were coming and by starclan, they weren’t waiting. She yowled to her partner, who came rushing with the medicine cat. She remembered happily remarking to her eldest, Button, that he was going to be a big brother. Surely, after his whole ordeal, he would be happy?

She never expected him to snap, for his words to come out hostile and frantic. His easy going expression dissolved into wide eyed anger. Screaming pure nonsense as he rushed out of the medicine den, scratching poor MothCatcher as the elder warrior tried to confront them. “You’re replacing me! They told me- oh starclan I knew it!” Button screamed, his voice shakey and desperate. Wren was beyond concerned. Was he ill, he sounded not right.

But as she tried to follow, Bristleweb shoved her down into the nest. She stared up almost confused, but another pain from her midsection anwsered it for her. “Wren please! They’ll find button, you’re having these kits now. You have to stay down.” She regretfully agreed, laying down. She felt Hickory groom her head, before he stepped out of the medicine den.

“I’ll go look for him. I’ll be back, I promise!” Wren nodded, sighing. Hickory had become her mate and parent to button when he was just an apprentice, and he took the parent role very seriously. Stating very early on that he’d protect her and him, no matter the costs. A wave of pain rushed through her, and she pushed her concerns aside. Button’Quail had to wait, he would be fine. She focused instead on listening to Bristleweb.

Bristleweb appeared at her side, grinning as she sat down a squeaking brown kit. “That’s the last one! Two Tom’s, Two Mollies. All healthy!” Wren smiled weakly, happily nuzzling the kitten into her curved body alongside its siblings. Four tiny life forms wiggled near her, moving and nursing as normal. Her heart was bursting with love, she was reminded of when she had Button. But this time, she had a mate to help her.

“Thank you Bristleweb…you’re amazing.” Wren choked, eyes teary. The medicine cat shook her head, gently brushing against Wrens pelt with a purr. “No no, you did the work mam’m. I just helped. You gonna name them-?” Wren looked up at their friend, chuckling. “Oh no, not all of them yet. I want to wait for Hickory to come back, so he gets a say too.”

Bristleweb nodded, stepping away to check the herb storage, dipping a moss patch in some water to slide near Wrenshine. Wren sniffed one of her kits, a white kitten with black and oranges patches. “This sweetheart is Plover. Hello dear…” the kitten mewled, “looking” up from its nursing to sniff their mother. Wren chuckled softly, but tiredly. The birthing strained her body, she would have to take it easy for a bit. That would be easy yes? Nap all day?

A commotion took her out of her calming daydream, and she looked at the exit of the medicine den. Someone outside was yelling, and more voices rang out. Wren heard the leader, she heard some of her freinds. “What’s going-“ Wren was cut off as Bristleweb poked her head outside, only to rush back into the den and scramble for herbs, grabbing cobweb and other herbs wren didn’t recognize. She looked panicked.

Wren spoke up, trying to calm her kittens squeaks from the sudden movement around the den. “Bristle! What’s going on?” The white she-cat looked at her, expression softening for a moment. All she did was shake her head, and run out, leaving Wren alone. Now she was torn. She had just had kits, and obviously Bristle didn’t want her worrying about something, that strain wouldn’t help. But why wouldn’t she say anything?! Wren pondered, maybe Bristle would come back and tell her-

Until she heard hickory’s panicked screams.

That settled it. She hoisted herself from the nest, legs feeling weak and wobbly as she forced herself to walk near the dens entrance. She could barely make out everyone’s words. “-too much blood-“ “starclan help him-“ “It’s gonna be okay, please-“ Between the panic she heard Buttons name. Her heart beat faster as she moved from a shuffle to a sprint after hearing her first borns name. “Button? Sweetheart?!” She managed to pull herself close to the entrance to stare out to camp, hoping for any kind of relief from her fears.

She never should have looked.

ButtonQuail’s orange fur was stained with crimson from the hips down. A twoleg trap, something she remembered setting off with a patrol was clamped around him, and his back legs seemed to no longer connect to his body. His blood was spilled out behind him, a red trail leading into camp only confirmed that he hadn’t gotten hurt and stayed down. He had dragged himself all the way to camp, which probably made the damage worse.

In her frenzied mind, she noticed something that looked like a pink fleshy peice of prey beside Button. Her stomach contents almost emptied as she realized that was part of his organs, that they were spilling out as the trap tore him in two. Hickory was crouched over him, frantically trying to keep him awake as the clan was panicking. Bristleweb was trying her hardest, barking orders and desperately trying to pry the trap off of him.

Wren felt like she was going to explode, her mind was moving too fast to comprehend everything. Her baby, her Pumpkin, Button was hurt so badly, would he even surivive this?

Maybe- maybe Bristleweb could help? She was, IS a great med cat, surely she can! Her freind has to save her baby, she has to! Why wasn’t the leader helping?! Why was he just standing there, why didn’t they find Button sooner! Was this her fault, maybe she should have seen the signs?!

The stress and influx of shock was only hurting her, the strain from birth had made her body extremely vulnerable. Wren tried to calm down, tried to think of her new kits, of hickory, of-

“..ma…….ma….”

Wren looked up, and for a moment, locked eyes with ButtonQuail. His eyes were wide, tears and dirt caked on his fluffy fur as he stared. His jaws cracked open again, blood spurting out of their throat as they forced the word again, almost desperate and afraid.

“Ma….”

And in that moment, Wren felt her world shatter. She stumbled backwards into the den, mind spinning as all of this horrid tragedy hit her at once, her heart beating so hard she felt it thrumming against her fur.

She couldn’t.

He couldn’t.

why starclan?! why Why WHY-

…and it was all over. In a split moment, Wrenshines heart gave out from the stress. Her body couldn’t take it anymore. Her legs gave out and she fell over into the nest, wind knocked out of her. She stared blankly at the den wall, consciousness fading faster than her brain could catch up with.

Before her vision faded to black, wren felt tiny forms under her now limp body.

Even hearing muffled mewls underneath.

[todaysbird]

the quail-plover is a small member of the buttonquail family found in dry regions of africa. the ‘plover’ portion of their name originates not from any close relation, but from the plover-like barred marking visible on the wing in flight. these birds are often found as individuals or in pairs, and primarily live in scrubland habitats.

[raptorsandpoultry]

Blue-breasted quail (AKA button quail) care sheet

Excalfactoria chinensis, AKA Chinese painted quail, king quail, etc., (not to be confused with hemipode buttonquail, which are actually a group of strange and tiny shorebirds!) These little guys are the smallest species of true quail, which are part of the pheasant family, and can live a little over 4 years under proper human care. Full-sized adults are no larger than a standard day-old chicken:

(Photo: mine)

Diet:

Two thirds of a daily adult blue-breasted quail ration should be fresh game bird pellet (they can learn to eat whole pellets, but ideally these should be ground/broken up into smaller pieces) or chick starter crumble. The remaining third should consist of fresh, bird-safe fruits and vegetables (mine personally prefer Romaine lettuce and grapes), supplemented with extra sources of protein such as live mealworms and boiled egg during periods of heavy molting or egg-laying. Any uneaten food items should be removed well before they get a chance to spoil/rot - quail are messy eaters and will scatter food about and kick bedding/waste material all over it, even if it is given in an elevated food bowl. Grit must be supplemented as well, in addition to calcium for laying hens. Most hens actually do well with a cuttlebone to peck at (it sounds like they’re playing a tiny xylophone and it’s probably one of my favorite things ever). As with any other bird, fresh water should be provided and changed daily. It can be offered in a shallow bowl with marbles/pebbles at the bottom to prevent drowning; alternatively, quail can be trained to drink from hamster-style water bottles.

Housing:

To minimize physiological and psychological stress, a quail enclosure should be placed away from anywhere it could be exposed to extreme or fluctuating temperatures, high-traffic areas, or perceived predators such as dogs and cats. The more space, the better - I would personally recommend at least 3 square meters or 10 cubic feet for a pair or trio. Their behaviour will indicate whether they’ve got enough space AND hiding places. If they spend the majority of their time repetitively walking/running along the edges of the enclosure, something needs to change, and if abnormal feather-pecking behaviour develops (more on that below), then they definitely do not have enough space. Blue-breasted quail will burst into flight when frightened (or do a shorter sort of flutter when they simply want to exercise their wings), and while they can reach impressive heights, they are pretty terrible at controlling which direction they go. They will be able to overshoot the walls of any enclosure you try to put them in, so a lid/cover is a must, and it needs to be soft enough or lined with soft material underneath to prevent head trauma when they inevitably hit their heads on it. Cleaning and disinfection of the entire enclosure with bird-safe agents needs to be done regularly, how frequently depends on many factors such as stocking density and the type of litter/bedding being used. Wood shavings/pellets, shredded paper, chopped straw, newspaper/paper towel (with small areas of substrate they can dig and forage around in) all work well, but the best enclosures will offer a variety of substrates to provide the quail with lots of choice as to where they can perform specific behaviours. Which leads nicely into the next segment...

(Photo: floridabuttonquail.wordpress.com)

Enrichment:

Quail *love* to dust-bathe. Chinchilla dust or sand are ideal for helping them get excess oil off their feathers, but they will bathe in other substrates as well, such as wood shavings, dried moss, etc. Small toys, when introduced carefully and with some treats scattered on or around them, will also stimulate these curious little birds. I give mine tiny whiffle balls stuffed with dried mealworms to encourage foraging behaviour. Furniture for the enclosure can include things like natural or artificial branches/twigs, leaves, and lots of small rock caves and plant pots for hiding places as well. Like any other pet, quail can be trained using positive reinforcement! Here are a couple videos of mine being target-trained. This can easily be extended to teach them to spin on cue, run obstacle courses, and much more! Lack of mental stimulation in quail can lead to abnormal feather-pecking behaviour, in which one or more quail begin to focus their activities on actively chasing their flockmates, then pulling out and eating their feathers. This can easily be prevented by providing plenty of environmental enrichment as described above, as well as appropriate social enrichment - quail absolutely should not be kept alone, and blue-breasted quail in particular do best in male-female pairs or one-male-two-female trios.

General Health:

A healthy blue-breasted quail will spend most of its day foraging and eating, as well as dust-bathing, napping, and gently preening itself and its mate. A quail with healthy plumage who is not molting should basically just be an orb when its feathers are smooth and fluffed out comfortably. Its eyes, nares, and cloaca should be free of discharge, and its beak and toenails kept at a proper length with the help of an appropriate foraging substrate and accessories such as cuttlebones. When they do grow too long, they should be trimmed by a veterinary professional or someone with extensive experience caring for quail (beaks especially should not be trimmed by someone other than an avian veterinarian as there is huge potential for error leading to beak deformities). Despite their small size and often cheap price, quail need and deserve proper veterinary care just as much as any parrot or other pet bird. Please take your quail to a licensed avian veterinarian if you notice any of the following signs: abnormal lumps on face/feet, plucked or consistently soiled feathers, lethargy, difficulty breathing, abnormal feces/urate, lameness, any discharge or swelling, excessive preening or scratching, and loss of appetite, among others.

(Photo: mine)

This care sheet was requested by @eclectus-mom! It just occurred to me that this is the first care sheet I’ve ever written, and I just know I missed a ton of points so please feel free to add them on if you are experienced with quail care! And my ask box if always open for other requests and questions :)