Chinese Painted (Button) Quail – Colour Guide

(More photos coming soon!)

This guide outlines the colours, patterns, and genetic combinations found in 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.

The colour genetics of Button Quail are often confusing due to the number of colour names, modifiers, and breeding outcomes. The structure used in this guide is our current working theory and has been developed from our own breeding observations, research, and discussions with other breeders. While genetics in Button Quail are still not fully understood, we have found this to be the simplest and easiest way to understand how the various colour genes interact.

Under this system, colours are grouped into:

Primary Colour Genes (the bird's base colour)
Secondary Colour Genes (modifiers that can combine with the base colour and each other)
Pattern Genes (such as Pied and its expressions)
Separate Recessive Varieties (rare varieties currently best considered outside the main colour system)

We currently keep and breed every colour listed in this guide except Fallow (Pink Eye) and Albino, which we are actively searching to introduce into our breeding lines and are willing to pay well for the right birds.

We are also currently selectively breeding birds so that we can photograph and document every colour and colour combination included in this guide. As new varieties and combinations are produced, photos will be added to help breeders better understand and identify each colour.

If you have any questions about Button Quail genetics, breeding, or would like help identifying the colour of your birds, please contact us through the Contact Us page and we will be happy to help.

Primary Colour Genes

Primary colour genes determine the bird's base colour.

Wild Type (WT)
Red Breasted (RB)
- Includes the US Red Breasted ("Darth Vader") variant, a selectively bred dark Red Breasted line characterised by extremely dark males with black heads and no bib. This appearance is achieved through selective breeding for darker Red Breasted traits rather than a separate colour gene.
Golden Pearl (GP)

These genes can be bred together and carried within the same genetic line. However, primary colours do not combine to create a mixed phenotype. A bird can carry alleles for multiple primary colours, but it will only visually express one primary colour at a time.

For example:

A bird may be visually Wild Type while carrying Red Breasted.
A bird may be visually Red Breasted while carrying Golden Pearl.
A bird cannot be visually "Wild Type Red Breasted" because primary colours do not combine.

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 true wild parents will produce wild offspring, though hidden colour genes may still be present if the line is not fully pure.

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).

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.

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.

Secondary Colour Genes

Secondary colour genes modify the appearance of the primary colour.

Silver (Si)
Cinnamon (Cin)
Blue Face (Bf)

Unlike primary colours, secondary colours combine with the base colour and can also combine with each other.

Silver (Si)

A dilution mutation that reduces dark pigmentation, changing black and dark brown areas to silver-grey while retaining the underlying pattern.

Cinnamon (Cin)

Also known as Fawn. A dilution mutation that converts dark pigmentation into warm brown, tan, or reddish-brown shades.

Blue Face (Bf)

A darkening mutation associated with the Extended Brown (EB) gene complex. Rather than diluting colour, Blue Face increases dark pigmentation and alters facial and body patterning.

Examples:

Wild Silver
Wild Cinnamon
Wild Blue Face
Wild Cinnamon Blue Face
Wild Silver Cinnamon
Wild Silver Blue Face
Wild Silver Cinnamon Blue Face

The same combinations can occur on Red Breasted or Golden Pearl bases.

Regardless of how many secondary colour genes are present, the bird will still express only one primary colour. However, it may still carry alleles for another primary colour that are not visually expressed.

For example:

Wild Cinnamon Blue Face = Wild primary colour with Cinnamon and Blue Face modifiers.
Red Breasted Silver Cinnamon = Red Breasted primary colour with Silver and Cinnamon modifiers.
Golden Pearl Silver Blue Face = Golden Pearl primary colour with Silver and Blue Face modifiers.

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 base colours. (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. When bred to a non-silver bird, offspring can appear normal but carry the silver gene, meaning silver can reappear in future generations.

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.

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.

Pied Expressions

A bird expressing the Pied gene will display one of the recognised Pied phenotypes:

Standard Pied
Tuxedo
Splash
White

These are expressions of the Pied gene rather than separate colour genes.

For example:

Wild Tuxedo
Red Breasted Splash
Golden Pearl Silver White
Wild Cinnamon Blue Face Pied

The visual expression of Pied can vary significantly between individual birds, even when they share the same colour genetics.

Pied

Pied quail show random patches of white mixed into their 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 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!)

White (extreme end of pied expression.)

Adult male: Completely white with dark eyes and no visible markings.

Adult female: Identical in appearance to the male, requiring behaviour rather than colour to determine sex. (treats are a good way to determine sex as the males will honk with the food in their beaks!)

Breeding notes: White is generally not considered a true or separate colour morph in Chinese painted quail. Most white birds are genetically heavily pied, with the underlying colour still present but fully masked.

There are established full white genetics and lines, such as those imported into the US from Europe by Cecial Gunby of Georgia state prior to 1991; however, in our experience, and that of many other breeders we know, most white birds do not breed true and instead behave as heavily pied. When breeding two white birds, they typically produce a mix of offspring including fully white, pied, splash, and tuxedo individuals.

Therefore, we do not currently classify white as a separate colour.

Separate Recessive Varieties

The following varieties are currently best considered separately from the Primary Colour, Secondary Colour, and Pied systems. They are extremely rare and require specific breeding pairings to produce offspring of the same variety.

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.

At present, these varieties are best treated as separate recessive varieties rather than being incorporated into the Primary Colour, Secondary Colour, or Pied systems.

Recognised Named Colour Crosses