Painted quail and their subspecies are found in India, Sri Lanka, southeast China, Taiwan, Hainan Island, southeast Asia (including Thailand, Myanmar, and Viet Nam), the Phillipines, Nicobar Islands, Sumatra (Butler, 1897; Delacour, 1947; Harper, 1986; Hayes, 1992), Borneo and Sarawak (Smythies, 1981), Java, the Celebes, Lombok, Sumba, Flores, Timor Islands, New Guinea, north to southeastern Australia (Butler, 1897; Delacour, 1947; Harper, 1986; Hayes, 1992), and as far east as Madagascar. They have been introduced into Mauritius and Reunion (Rutgers and Norris, 1970) as well as Guam (Mayr, 1945).

Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Introduced , Native ); ethiopian (Introduced , Native ); australian (Native )