I am a bit concerned considering the length of my previous trip reports that my
Button-quail questions might be overlooked, so here they are again:
I stopped off to check out Stuart Pell's site for Little Button-quail approx
30km from Cunnamulla at S28 01.734 E145 57.551 on the 17/06/07. I was
successful at flushing at least a half dozen Little Bq (some of them
repeatedly).
A couple of Bq really confused me however as they seemed to show a rufous
ventral 'stripe' underneath as they flew away. I did not notice any variation
in colour on the tops of the wings, nor the white flanks I have noticed with my
previous sighting of Little Bq. I wonder if I was seeing Red-chested
Button-quail instead of LBq. I haven't had a definite sighting of the RcBq yet
so I would appreciate assistance on this one. Any ideas any one?
The next day at Coopers Crossing, SWQld I managed to flush in half an hour
about a dozen Little Button-quail, which appeared to use the deep dried out
cattle hoof prints to hide in which meant they didn't flush sometimes until I
was nearly standing on them - most disconcerting! Some flew off with a few
squeaks, showed the distinctive white flanks, rufous coverts contrasting with
the darker flight feathers and appeared smaller than the mystery Bq I had
noticed the previous day east of Cunnamulla.
On my previous trip out to Coopers Crossing in April I had a similar
Unidentified Button-quail:
While we were there we came across a BQ at close range that remained stationary
for a while before wandering off. We couldn't positively identify it because
it didn't appear to exactly resemble the illustrations in any of our guide
books. We both felt it was probably a Red-chested BQ but because we were
disturbing Little BQ all around us (~20-30) neither of us was willing to make
the call. It appeared to have bright rufous around the face, ear coverts,
possibly a collar, which appeared to extend down the sides of the breast. It
was still pale underneath and the boundaries to the rufous areas were patchy.
Both my mate and I have been scratching our heads since as to what we saw. The
vegetation in the area was lignum and grasses.
I wish I had thought to check out the eye colour on the Bq at Coopers Crossing
- wise in hind-sight. Are Bq like the illustrations in the field guides or
are the rufous areas less uniform (a bit like the crimson on the Crimson
Finches I have seen in FNQ and NT).
Anybody got any ideas on either of these?
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