Chinese Painted (Button) Quail – Colour Guide (working on photos!)

This guide outlines the colours, patterns and crosses found in our Chinese Painted (Button) Quail, including brief explanations of appearance and breeding notes. Males are typically more colourful than females, and some colours or patterns require specific genetics to appear. We currently have every colour listed except Fallow (Pink Eye) and Albino, which we are actively searching to add to our breeding lines and will pay well for the right birds. 

Wild (Normal)

Adult male: Displays bold facial markings (bibs) with rich brown colouring on top and strong contrast of rusty red and blue on their chests.

Adult female: Plain face with mottled brown colouring designed to blend into her surroundings. 

Breeding notes: Wild-type birds display no visible mutations. Two wild parents will produce wild offspring, though hidden colour genes may still be present if the line is not fully pure.

Silver

First appearing in captivity around the 1950s, likely within early European aviculture collections. Silver was the first colour mutation developed beyond the wild type.

Adult male: Light silver-grey overall with softened markings and a frosted appearance compared to wild. (can have little or no rusty red feathers)

Adult female: Similar silver colouring but with more blended tones and less contrast.

Breeding notes: Silver is a recessive colour. Two silver parents will produce 100% silver offspring. When bred to a non-silver bird, offspring will appear normal but carry the silver gene, meaning silver can reappear in future generations.

US Red Breast

In 1987, the red-breasted mutation was discovered and established in the United States by Garrie Landry of Acadiana Aviaries.

Adult male: A refined, selectively enhanced expression of a natural trait. Develops a deep red or rust-coloured chest with fainter to little facial markings (bib) and blue-grey colouring on top.

Adult female: White to light grey body with black speckling, often showing soft peach tones. The back of the head is typically black, with overall colour varying in intensity.

Breeding notes: Red breast is recessive; both parents must carry the red-breast gene for chicks to show it. (if its only one parent the chicks can still be carriers). 

Cinnamon

Adult male: Bibs and chests of the males match Wild males colour (rusty red and blue) but the top of these birds have cinnamon (light brown to tan) coloured feathers, similar to the females body colour.

Adult female: light brown to tan colour across the body - although colours have less contrast / more muted appearance than wild females these birds often have a beautiful sheen to them!

Breeding notes: Cinnamon is passed through specific breeding lines and can be hidden in carriers, sometimes appearing unexpectedly in later generations. 

Golden Pearl

Adult male: Bibs and chests of the males match Wild males colour (rusty red and blue) but  the top of these bird have deep golden to creamy beige coloured feathers with a similar pattern to the females backs. Males usually also have a distinctive white patch above their beaks (forehead).

Adult female: Deep golden to creamy beige colour with distinctive black tiger striped like markings across their whole body.

Breeding notes: Golden pearl is bred as a single-factor only; breeding two golden pearl birds together (including pearl crosses) is avoided because double-factor golden pearl is lethal. 

Blue Face

Adult male: Shows grey-blue tones, especially on the face, giving a darker overall appearance. 

Adult female: chestnut to dark brown colouring across the body with double-factor females getting white patches on face/bib area and wing tips. (Often with the same white more pronounced forehead markings as the Golden Pearl males).

Breeding notes: Blue face is recessive; both parents must carry the gene (both don't need to show in parents colour) for chicks to show Single-factor  blue face colouring. For Double-factor both parents must have the true blue face genes.

US Red Breast “Darth Vader” mutation

Adult male: The name coined by Mr. Jeff Bridges in Colorado, US. These male birds have an extremely dark red-breast appearance with a black head and no Bib.

Adult female: Darker than average females but still plainer and less intense than males.

Breeding notes: This look is achieved through selective breeding for darker red-breast traits rather than a single colour gene. 

Pied, Tux & Splash – Pattern Explanation

Breeding notes: These three patterns are closely related and often confused. They’re best thought of as different expressions along the same pied spectrum, rather than completely separate genes. (These genes will often all just be referred to as pied. Which i will do to save time typing!)

They are a pattern, and not a colour; therefore pied can appear on any base colour. Pied often behaves as a dominant or variably dominant trait, where a single copy can produce white markings, though the amount and pattern of white can vary significantly between birds.

Pied 

Pied quail show random patches of white mixed into their base colour.

• The amount and placement of white varies greatly

• Can be subtle (a few feathers) or quite bold

• No two pied birds look the same

Tux 

Tux (tuxedo) is essentially a more structured pied pattern, resembling a tuxedo or penguin on darker birds!

• Typically shows a white chest, belly, or bib, often with white wings

• The back and head usually remain solid base colour

• Looks more symmetrical than standard pied

Splash 

Splash refers to very heavy pied expression.

• Large areas of white, often covering most of the body

• Base colour appears as scattered “splashes” rather than patches

• Pattern can sometimes resemble a mostly white bird with colour flecks (like the photo above!)

Fallow (Pink Eye) (wanted – happy to pay well)

Adult male: Very pale cream or beige body with a very light pink/red chest, and distinctive pink or ruby-coloured eyes.

Adult female: Similar pale colouring across whole body with pink eyes and extremely subtle patterning.

Breeding notes: Fallow is recessive; both parents must carry the fallow gene to produce fallow chicks. 

Albino (wanted – happy to pay well)

Adult male: Pure white plumage with red eyes and no visible pigment. 

Adult female: Identical to the male, with sex determined by behaviour or breeding.

Breeding notes: Albino is extremely rare and requires specific albino breeding pairs to produce albino chicks. 

Colour Crosses / combinations

When breeding Chinese painted quail, offspring can sometimes show traits from both parents rather than matching one colour exactly.

For example:

Silver (male) × Red Breast (female) can produce Red Breast and Silver offspring but also silver red breasts (as seen above)

• Some chicks may appear mostly silver, but develop a reddish chest, belly and sometimes even wings
• This happens because different genes affect different parts of the bird (base colour vs red pigmentation)

Chinese Painted Quail can show a combination of both colours

These are not always “standard” named colours, but a mix of traits that can happen with any of the colours 

Recognised Colour Crosses

Some colour combinations in Chinese painted quail are widely recognised and commonly named within the hobby. These include:

• Ivory – a combination of Silver and Cinnamon
• Slate – a combination of Silver and Blue Face
• Smoky – a combination of Silver, Cinnamon, and Blue Face
• Silver Red Breast – a combination of Silver and Red Breast
• Cinnamon Red Breast – a combination of Red Breast and Cinnamon
• Blue Face Cinnamon – a combination of Cinnamon and Blue Face
• Silver Pearl – a combination of Silver and Golden Pearl
• Cinnamon Pearl – a combination of Cinnamon and Golden Pearl
• Blue Face Pearl – a combination of Blue Face and Golden Pearl