The Sumba buttonquail is a species of bird in the family Turnicidae. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.
Region
Lesser Sunda Islands
Typical Environment
Occurs across Sumba’s open habitats, favoring dry grasslands, savanna, and lightly wooded scrub. It also uses fallow fields, pasture edges, and mosaics of secondary growth created by shifting cultivation. The species keeps close to dense ground cover, moving quietly through tussocks and low shrubs. It generally avoids closed-canopy forest but may skirt forest margins and riverine thickets. Nests are shallow scrapes concealed under grasses.
Altitude Range
0–1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
This secretive ground-dweller is endemic to Sumba Island in Indonesia, and its scientific name honors the zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett. Like many buttonquails, it exhibits reversed sexual roles: females are more brightly colored and court males, while males incubate the eggs and rear the young. It relies on camouflage to avoid detection, flushing only in short, explosive flights when approached. Habitat loss from agriculture and burning is its primary threat.
Temperament
secretive and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with explosive flush, then dropping quickly back into cover
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs. The species displays polyandry: females court and may mate with multiple males, while males incubate and care for the young. Nests are shallow ground scrapes hidden under dense grasses; clutches are typically 3–4 eggs. Chicks are precocial and leave the nest soon after hatching.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include low, booming, drum-like notes given mostly by the female, carrying at dawn and dusk. Soft clucks and whistles serve as contact calls within pairs or family groups.
Plumage
Cryptic, finely mottled and barred brown with buff and black patterns; underparts buff with dusky mottling. Females show richer rufous tones on the neck and breast and are slightly larger. Back and wings exhibit fine black barring that blends with dry grass. Short, rounded wings and a compact, quail-like shape.
Diet
Feeds on small invertebrates such as ants, termites, beetles, and other ground-dwelling insects, supplemented with seeds and tender shoots. It gleans and probes among leaf litter and grass tussocks, occasionally scratching to expose prey. Diet composition varies seasonally with rainfall and seed availability.
Preferred Environment
Forages on the ground in open grassy areas, savanna edges, and fallow fields with scattered shrubs. It stays near cover, moving in short dashes between clumps of vegetation. Field margins and lightly disturbed areas are frequently used.
