the systematic assignment of the fight-quails or run-chickens to the crane-birds is controversial, since these 10 -20 cm show big birds also many similarities with hen-birds, particularly the quails.
This family, that is understood as own order of the birds because of its many peculiarities of some authors, includes three types.
Trappenlaufhühnchen The Trappenlaufhühnchen (Pedionomus torquatus), named also Trappenkampfwachtel and steppe-runners, lives in the dry grass-levels of the southeastern Australia, where it is only existed in individual smaller occurrences and is threatened by the extinction, its habitat is restricted by the human being there on and on.
Shape The male animals become 15-17 cm big, while the females reach 16-19 cm of total-length, and a more distinctive plumage-drawing has.
Way of life Trappenkampfwachteln move skillfully and fast on the ground, with danger, she shirk flat on the earth and run away only at the last moment. "Steppe-runners" fly only unwillingly and only across short distances. Frequently, these shy birds place themselves on its tips of the toe and hold lookout for enemies steeply raised with upwards-stretched head. In the protection of grass-tufts, Trappenkampfwachteln position its nests; the nest consists gray-white of 4, spotted eggs.
Lark-run-chickens The lark-run-chicken (Ortyxelos maiffrenii) of Africa, that is spread from the Senegal as far as to the Sudan and North-Kenya, lives in very dry and sandy bush-areas where it lives mainly from grass-seeds.
Shape and way of life Both sexes of the 12 cm of big lark-fight-quail resemble from; in the flight, they remind something of larks. These birds fly gladly also across further routes, with what they often alter its direction abruptly. The nest is a flat ground-hollow, it is laid out only few with grass and is bordered with small shingles from time to time. The nest consists of 2 eggs.
Actual fight-quails The type Turnix contains 15 types, that are spread in the Australian area, in Africa and on Madagascar as well as in Southern Europe and Asia.
Shape The females of these birds are colored bigger and more colorful than the male animals on the other hand.
Reproduction The females take over them with hollowly sounding Balzrufen perform courtship display and are combined with several males. The nests consist of 3-7 eggs, which become erbrütet from the male fight-quails only for 12-13 days. This is one of the shortest incubation at all for birds.
Also otherwise, the "usual" roles of the sexes turned back here: The Aufzucht of the nestlings is task of the male. This thin weighs squabs bedunten only few grams and becomes the first week long gehudert intensively from the alto-bird and fed. Begin after one week to look independently for young run-chickens after seeds; after another week, they then are fully befiedert and finally separate in the age of 3 - 4 weeks of the alto-bird.
"Vielmännerei" Fight-quails have its name of the often vehement precinct-disputes the reproductive-makes ready females. The females take over yes, how already mentions, the partner-advertisement. A hen sets aside several nests, that then become erbrütet from different "fathers", within a brood-season. In the nest-construction, both partners usually take part, however.
Run-chickens In Europe (Spain), Africa and Asia (from Asia Minor and the Arabic peninsula as far as to South-China and Bali), big run-chicken (Turnix sylvatica) lives the 15-18 cm, also Rostkehl-Kampfwachtel named. Earlier, these birds populated also Sicily's dwarf-palm-hedge; through destruction of this biotope, however, they vanished from the island today.
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