Rare now possible extinct buttonquail cooked

February 22, 2009 at 6:45 am (animals, birds)
Tags: animals, birds, endangered/threatened animals, save the planet, saving endangered animals & plants, saving the biodiversity of planet, wildlife, working together

Thought to be extinct the rare Worcester  button quail was photographed live for the first time at a market by news men. The photo was taken in Nueva Vizcaya market in northern Luzon. Then they watched as the bird was sold as food at a poultry market, according to the Agence France-Press news agency.  Seems their pictures of the bird may be the only live photos of the bird ever taken.

Found only on the island of Luzon, Worcester’s buttonquail until this incident was known only from drawings made from old museum specimens collected decades ago.

These distinctive birds are characterized by their black heads with white spots, a brown or fawn colored body and yellow legs on males and the females are brown with white and black spots. The buttonquail is from a family of elusive birds that may survive undetected in other regions.

The Luzon Buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri) is a species of bird in the Turnicidae family. It is native to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. Locally known as “Pugo”, they are known to inhabit rice paddies and scrub lands near farm areas because of the availability of seeds and insects that they feed on regularly.

These birds are very secretive, choosing to make small path ways through the rice fields, and were hunted by children and young men by means of setting spring traps along their usual path way until their vanished.

References

Excerpts courtesy of National Geographic

“Extinct” Bird Seen –Then Eaten – Christine Dell’Amore   extinct-bird-photo

Image Luzon Buttonquail courtesy of Wikipedia and Arnel B. Telesforo LuzonButtonquail