On the centenary of the last irrefutable sighting of the elusive Buff-breasted Button-quail, Patrick Webster concludes a four-year search for the bird with a question: could the sightings from the last four decades be a case of mistaken identity?
If you were asked ten years ago ‘what is Australia’s rarest bird?’, perhaps the Night Parrot would have come to mind. Five years ago, you might have said Western Ground Parrot or Orange-bellied Parrot. In recent years, the King Island Brown Thornbill has been making headlines. Throughout all this time though, it is possible the answer to this question has remained unchanged, and it is a species that has largely escaped the attention of most birders, conservation scientists and policy makers—the Buff-breasted Button-quail. Moreover, there is a chance it has been our most threatened species for a long time.
Read more: Missing in action
First published 13 April 2022 by BirdLife Australia