The Madagascar buttonquail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[2] Gmelin based his description on the earlier accounts by the French naturalists Mathurin Jacques Brisson and Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.

[3][4][5] The Madagascar buttonquail is now placed in the genus Turnix that was introduced in 1791 by French naturalist in Pierre Bonnaterre.

The top of the head is blackish and the mantle brownish-grey with some dark barring and cinnamon feather-edges, interspersed with some plain grey-brown feathers, giving a chequer-board effect.

It is found in grassland, open woodland, clearings, glades, the edges of forests, sandy and bushy locations, weedy places and cultivated areas, especially where cassava is grown.

[9] It has been introduced to Mauritius, where it is now likely extinct and is present on Réunion and the Glorioso Islands, although it is unclear whether it is native there.

[9] As with other members of this family, the female plays the more active role in the breeding season, defending a territory and making vocalisations to attract a male.

The male incubates these for about a fortnight, possibly being relieved by the female occasionally; he is also responsible for the care of the young, feeding them for the first week from his bill before they start to peck food from the ground.