A Painted Button-quail visits my garden

This bird must have been reading my Blog, over the last two days.

I was on the phone, talking with my brother, Brendan, when I saw a bird moving on the ground just outside my window. 

This is all I could see.

A small, "quail-like" bird moving around on the ground.

If you spot the eye first, you can then just make out the bird's shape.

At first I assumed it was a female Bowerbird. Then I looked more closely, and realise it was a "Quail" (see clarifying comment below).

Sensibly, Brendan told me to hang up the phone, grab my camera and then ring him back (in order).

Good plan.

Once I had taken the first shot, and expanded it on my camera 

I realised what I had photographed. 

This is the "cropped" version of the same image.

Painted Button-quail in my garden

The last species of "Quail" I was expecting in my own garden, between my Camellias, and under the Dogwood tree, was a Painted Button-quail (even though I had previously found a dead one down on Tourist Road, Kangaloon). But that's sandstone scrub habitat. Normal habitat for the species (Robertson is not!)

I had first thought Brown Quail, but realised it was too strongly marked for that. 

What about a Stubble Quail? They have fairly strong markings.  

Hang on - there a definite tinge of orange around the "shoulders" of this bird.

Orange tonings on neck and wings become apparent, as the bird walks around.

 Its a Female Painted Button-quail.

(as has been discussed recently, they are NOT true Quails).

As she moves into the sunlight, the ID is confirmed.

Painted Button-quails are well known for forming "platelets" - little round clearings on the ground.

The Flickr image (linked here) comments that: "Button-quail search for insects by standing on one leg and scratching away the leaf litter while rotating their body in a circle. This leaves a distinctive circular cleared area in the leaf litter." 

That's exactly what this bird was doing in my yard this morning. 

 It was walking around in a circle, scratching away the dead grass.

That leaves the cleared circular area

making it easy for it to

find insects.

Painted Button-quail formed this "platelet" in my garden

POST SCRIPT:

Today (Thursday) - my little friend was back, scratching away, busily, doing "circles" and clearing more of these "platelets". DJW 22 Sept 2011