Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L00858:body:0:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L00858
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 3300–6568

Actions to achieve the specific objectives

7.    Duration and cost of the recovery process

8.   Effects on other native species and biodiversity benefits

9.    Social and economic considerations

10.  Affected interests

11.  Consultation

12.  Organisations and persons involved in evaluating the performance of the plan

13.  References

Acronyms
AOO        Area of occupancy
BBBQ       Black-breasted Button-quail
BOM        Bureau of Meteorology
CSIRO      Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Commonwealth)
DCCEEW     Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (Australian Government)
DES        Department of Environment and Science (Queensland)
DPE        Department of Planning and Environment (New South Wales)
EOO        Extent of occurrence
EPBC Act   Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)
IUCN       International Union for Conservation of Nature
KBA        Key Biodiversity Area
NGO        Non-government organisation
NSW        New South Wales
Qld        Queensland
SPRAT      Species Profile and Threats
TSSC       Threatened Species Scientific Committee

1. Summary

  Common name:
  Black-breasted Button-quail

  Scientific name:
  Turnix melanogaster

  Family:
  Turnicidae

  Current status of taxon:
  Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth): Vulnerable

  Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld): Vulnerable

  Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW): Critically Endangered

  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Near Threatened

Species description, distribution and habitat

The Black-breasted Button-quail is a relatively large, plump, white-eyed button-quail which ranges in size from 16–19 cm in length. It has a grey bill and bright yellow legs. The plumage is of a brown, black, white and grey complexion. The chest is black with half-moon markings in white. The distinguishing feature between the male and female is that the male has a white face and throat while the female has a black face and throat. The juvenile bird resembles the male but is slightly duller in colouration.

At least 90% of Black-breasted Button-quail habitat (subtropical and dry rainforests) had been cleared by the late 1960s (Hamley et al. 1997). The core population of the Black-breasted Button-quail is now considered to be confined to south-eastern Queensland 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. The species may now be locally extinct in New South Wales (DPIE 2021a). Many occupied patches of habitat are widely separated, either naturally by open forest, on islands or artificially by cleared agricultural land. However, there are sufficient records of vagrants (e.g. Smyth et al. 2001), including in small islands of habitat, to suggest that mobility is not constrained and that there is a single dispersed population (Webster et al. 2021).

The species' preferred habitats include 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. Small