Description
Superb lithograph of the Chestnut-Backed Button-Quail from the last great bird series on Australian ornithology, The Birds of Australia by G. Matthew’s. Brown thornbills are skilled mimics and adults are able to mimic the alarm calls of other birds such as the New Holland honeyeater that warn of a bird of prey approaching, which deters other predators such as pied currawongs from attacking their nests.
This series is rarer than John Gould’s work on Australian birds, with only 225 sets done and was the to use hand colouring for the lithographs.
Common name: Chestnut-Backed Button-Quail
Modern binomial name: Turnix castanonota
First described: Gould, 1840
Distribution: WA, NT
Collections:
State Library New South Wales: Call Numbers: MRB/F598.2/M
State Library Victoria: RARESF 598.2994 M42
State Library South Australia: Rare Books Room 598.294 M429 b
State Library of Western Australia: Call Number Q 598.2994 MAT
National Library Australia: Rex Nan Kivell Collection ; NK9772
State Library Queensland: RBF 598.2994 MAT
National Museum of Australia: Call no: AIA F 598.2994 MAT
