Hello Allan,
About 15 years ago I used to keep and breed buttonquail especially
Black-breasted Buttonquail. The females always exhibit the black
colouration whether or not they are breeding. The immatures are certainly
closer to the males in plumage than they are to the females, however, they
show signs of being females from a fairly young age. I remember birds being
sexable while they were still a bit gangly- more black feathers around the
face than the male birds if I was to hazard a guess at how it was possible.
This Inskip Point does sound like a great place- I'd love to see it one day.
Cheers
Mick Todd
Griffith, NSW
A couple of questions:
1/ All observations to date seem to be of males. Has anybody got a
definite sighting of a female?
2/ Do the immatures exhibit males plumage? Immatures are not described in
Pizzey and Knight
3/ Do females only exhibit the black head and throat when breeding?
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