Black-breasted Buttonquail occur in vine thickets, softwood scrubs, bottle tree scrubs, vine scrub regrowth, lantana Lantana camara and other shrubs under mature plantations of Hoop Pine Araucaria cunninghamii, and Acacia and Austromyrtus scrubs on sandy coastal soils, where small groups search in the leaf litter for invertebrates and possibly seeds (Mathieson and Smith 2009, Webster et al. 2019).

Black-breasted Buttonquail are now thought to be confined to south-eastern Queensland, Australia, from near Byfield in the north to the Border Ranges in the south and as far west as Palmgrove National Park and Barakula State Forest. While they may now be gone from New South Wales (Mathieson and Smith 2009), historical records from the Wet Tropics (Le Souef 1897, Bravery 1970) may not be implausible given that Spotted Quail-thrushes Cinclosoma punctatum remained undetected in the region until recently. Many occupied patches of suitable habitat are widely separated, either naturally by open forest or artificially by cleared agricultural land. However, there are enough records of vagrants (e.g. Smyth et al. 2001), including on small islands (Webster et al. 2021), to suggest that mobility is unconstrained and that there is a single dispersed population. Their apparent absence from many sites in south-east Queensland from January to March, and well into winter in wetter years, suggests some movements may be regular (R.P. Jaensch unpublished, in Webster et al. 2021).

Conservation Actions Underway
Much of the habitat is within protected areas. Listed as threatened under appropriate legislation. Some weed control and fire protection occurs. Management actions completed or underway include surveys in Queensland (excluding Fraser Island), and research to determine habitat use, particularly of A. cunninghamii plantations and adjacent remnants of native vine thicket. 

Conservation Actions Proposed
Confirm size and distribution of Yarraman and Great Sandy populations.  Determine the size and security of K'gari/Fraser Island population. Determine status of remaining populations in New South Wales. Survey possible habitat before timber harvesting, licensing clearing, burning, roading and grazing. Develop a standard monitoring technique and assess population trends. Understand movement ecology. Determine the impact of fox and cat predation, particularly in small fragments. Determine the extent of movement between habitat patches. Rehabilitate and consolidate habitat fragments. Ensure appropriate conservation management of all remaining breeding habitat, including protection from clearing, burning, timber harvesting, roading and grazing. Determine the relationship between weeds and abundance and how to control weeds rapidly and cost-effectively. Respect and involve Indigenous traditional owners in management where appropriate. Control weeds at priority high quality sites. Restore burnt sites.