Common Buttonquail

The common buttonquail is a tiny, terrestrial bird 13–16 cm long, with males weighing about 32–60 g and the larger females 39–70 g. Its sandy-brown upperparts are intricately streaked, the underparts are buff with dark flank markings, and the face is comparatively plain. A whitish wingbar contrasts with the grey wing in flight. Despite its name and quail-like outline, it belongs to the buttonquail family rather than the true quails (Birds of Saudi Arabia; Wikipedia, general species account).

Its broad range extends from Africa and southern Europe through India and tropical Asia to Indonesia. Birds live on dry sandy ground in short grass, open scrub, fallow fields and crops, scratching for seeds, ants and other small invertebrates. A shallow, grass-lined scrape hidden beneath vegetation usually holds four, sometimes five, spotted eggs. The male performs most incubation and cares for the precocial chicks; incubation lasts about 12–14 days and young birds can fly within roughly two weeks (Animal Diversity Web).