Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has fewer than 10,000 mature individuals belonging to one subpopulation and is inferred to be declining as a result of environmental degradation caused by the proliferation of invasive weeds. For these reasons it is assessed as Vulnerable.
Population justification
The population structure of the species is poorly known and difficult to estimate given the nature of the species, with densities considered especially difficult to generate. In 2011, using survey data and estimations of available habitat, expert elicitation concluded there were 5,000±1,700 mature individuals. This was upheld by Webster et al. (2021) on the basis that no more rigorous estimate has been generated in the interim. Given inferred declines, it is possible that the best estimate is now slightly fewer than 5,000 mature individuals. To account for this, Webster et al. (2021) applied an approximate trend correction and suggested a best estimate of 4,800, with a range of 3,000-6,500, and this is followed here.
Trend justification
A continuing decline is inferred due to habitat degradation as a result of ongoing weed invasion, drought, fire and habitat clearance for agriculture (Webster et al. 2021). The incursion of Panicum maximum is considered a serious issue, with fires enabling the invasive species to get a foothold and incrementally render habitat unsuitable (M. Mathieson in litt. 2022). This ongoing degradation of habitat has directly caused the local extinction of T. melanogaster at several sites. For example: a small remnant patch of softwood scrub (Birdwood Scrub Gowrie) had the species regularly in the 1990s and early 2000s but repeated visits in 2020 and 2021 failed to locate a single individual, a fact attributed to recent proliferation of Anredera cordifolia and Asparagus aethiopicus, while the creation of fire breaks allowed P. maximum to penetrate the edges of the scrub. Inskip Point, an area of littoral scrub where T. melanogaster had been reliably reported from the 1990s until c.2015, appears to have been vacated (no sightings despite surveys in 2018) with the creation of numerous tracks and camping spots, enabling P. maximum to proliferate (P. Webster in litt. 2022). These problems have also been recorded at Redwood Park and Sharron Gorge Nature Park, where there have been no recent records of the species. Consequently, while the rate of decline has not been quantified, the species is inferred to be undergoing a continuing decline.
Black-breasted Buttonquail are now thought to be confined to south-eastern Queensland, Australia, from near Byfield in the north to the Border Ranges in the south and as far west as Palmgrove National Park and Barakula State Forest. While they may now be gone from New South Wales (Mathieson and Smith 2009), historical records from the Wet Tropics (Le Souef 1897, Bravery 1970) may not be implausible given that Spotted Quail-thrushes Cinclosoma punctatum remained undetected in the region until recently. Many occupied patches of suitable habitat are widely separated, either naturally by open forest or artificially by cleared agricultural land. However, there are enough records of vagrants (e.g. Smyth et al. 2001), including on small islands (Webster et al. 2021), to suggest that mobility is unconstrained and that there is a single dispersed population. Their apparent absence from many sites in south-east Queensland from January to March, and well into winter in wetter years, suggests some movements may be regular (R.P. Jaensch unpublished, in Webster et al. 2021).
Black-breasted Buttonquail occur in vine thickets, softwood scrubs, bottle tree scrubs, vine scrub regrowth, lantana Lantana camara and other shrubs under mature plantations of Hoop Pine Araucaria cunninghamii, and Acacia and Austromyrtus scrubs on sandy coastal soils, where small groups search in the leaf litter for invertebrates and possibly seeds (Mathieson and Smith 2009, Webster et al. 2019).
Currently, the main threat is weed invasion, particularly cat's claw creeper Dolichandra unguis-cati which gradually smothers the litter layer and kills the trees and shrubs that form the near-closed cover under which the birds feed, rendering habitat unsuitable (P. Webster, R.P. Jaensch unpublished, in Webster et al. 2021). Many suitable habitat remnants are on private property, often on steep escarpments, and landholders do not have the resources to combat this threat. This is exacerbated by many landholders no longer working their land, instead obtaining off-farm income in urban areas and thus having no time for weed control. Around the city of Toowoomba, persistent efforts by community groups to control the climbers in local government reserves have been partially successful but are falling behind the tidal wave of weed growth in these ‘dry rainforests’ (R. Jaensch in litt. 2022). Also, drought severe enough to kill trees also exposes and dries out the leaf litter and makes destruction of habitat by fire more likely; drought severity is likely to increase (Evans et al. 2017). Grazing by domestic stock and feral pigs Sus scrofa exacerbates the the threat of weed invasion and causes habitat degradation through soil compaction and trampling native vegetation (Commonwealth of Australia 2021). Predation by cats Felis catus and foxes Vulpes vulpes may also reduce populations but their effects are unproven (Mathieson and Smith 2009). While at least 90% of the species habitat was cleared for agriculture or plantations of Hoop Pine by the 1960s (Hamley et al. 1997), intentional habitat removal (e.g. for mining and water impoundment) has been much reduced in recent decades.
Conservation Actions Underway
Much of the habitat is within protected areas. Listed as threatened under appropriate legislation. Some weed control and fire protection occurs. Management actions completed or underway include surveys in Queensland (excluding Fraser Island), and research to determine habitat use, particularly of A. cunninghamii plantations and adjacent remnants of native vine thicket.
Conservation Actions Proposed
Confirm size and distribution of Yarraman and Great Sandy populations. Determine the size and security of K'gari/Fraser Island population. Determine status of remaining populations in New South Wales. Survey possible habitat before timber harvesting, licensing clearing, burning, roading and grazing. Develop a standard monitoring technique and assess population trends. Understand movement ecology. Determine the impact of fox and cat predation, particularly in small fragments. Determine the extent of movement between habitat patches. Rehabilitate and consolidate habitat fragments. Ensure appropriate conservation management of all remaining breeding habitat, including protection from clearing, burning, timber harvesting, roading and grazing. Determine the relationship between weeds and abundance and how to control weeds rapidly and cost-effectively. Respect and involve Indigenous traditional owners in management where appropriate. Control weeds at priority high quality sites. Restore burnt sites.
16-19 cm. Large, plump, pale-eyed buttonquail. Adult male predominantly white face and throat. Brownish-grey upperparts, barred rufous-brown and black with white streaks. Coarsely spotted, black and white breast. Adult female, like male except head predominantly black with some fine white spots forming supercilium. Female larger than male. Immature birds similar to adult male although a little less boldly marked. Similar spp. Female distinctive. Male distinguished from Painted Buttonquail T. varia by darker upperparts and black on breast. Voice Female, booming and whistles. Male, rapid high-pitched notes, staccato calls and clucking. Hints Distinctive, circular feeding scrapes (platelets) indicate the possible presence of this species. Note the sympatric Painted Buttonquail also makes such feeding marks.
Text account compilers
Vine, J., Berryman, A., Garnett, S.
Contributors
Jaensch, R., Mathieson, M., Smith, G. & Webster, P.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Black-breasted Buttonquail Turnix melanogaster. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-breasted-buttonquail-turnix-melanogaster on 18/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 18/12/2024.