• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note

Turnix hottentottus and T. nanus (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as T. hottentottus following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993), the gender agreement of which follows David and Gosselin (2002b), and before then were split as T. nana and T. hottentotta following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Least Concern
2016	Endangered	C2a(i)
2014	Endangered	C2a(i)
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	126,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	22248-88553 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2016
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	2016-2026
Generation length	2.68 years	-	-	-

Population justification: A 1994 survey resulted in an estimate of c.310-480 birds, or 0.021-0.036 birds/ha, in 25 km² of montane fynbos habitat in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (Ryan and Hockey 1995, Lee 2013). The lack of records suggest that this may be an overestimate, and extrapolation of a much lower density estimate of 0.004 birds/ha from a 1990 study would result in a total population across the Western Cape of just 400 birds (Fraser 1990; Lee 2013). Further survey work by Lee et al. (2018a, 2018b) in 2016 found a population density of 0.032 individuals/ha, and an estimated Extent of Suitable Habitat of 10,377 – 41,303 km² (median 27,855 km²). The most recent population estimate is therefore 33,206 – 132,169 individuals (median 89,136), roughly equating to a population size of 22,248 – 88,553 mature individuals (median 59,721). However, the species is likely to have a very dynamic population as a result of the Fynbos ecosystem being fire-driven (A. Lee in litt. 2021).

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to on-going habitat loss and degradation (Barnes 2000, Madge and McGowan 2002), including declines in suitable area due to agricultural land conversion and alien vegetation encroachment (A. Lee in litt. 2021).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
South Africa	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude	0 - 1800 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Supression in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Fynbos Buttonquail Turnix hottentottus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/fynbos-buttonquail-turnix-hottentottus on 25/12/2024.
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 25/12/2024.