Bird of the Week: CLII

This weeks bird is the Stubble Quail Coturnix pectoralis

I have only come across Stubble Quail once at Rocky Creek Dam.
The vegetation around the dam is dense and in part rainforest. I didn’t get many photos as the Stubble Quail were foraging in the leaf litter and the understory was thick which made it dark.

The Stubble Quail is found over much of south-eastern and south-western Australia. In Queensland it is mostly found in the south-east of the state, while it is found across all of New South Wales and Victoria. It used to be found in Tasmania but is now rare there. In South Australia it is most common south of 19*S and westwards to Streaky Bay. It is also found in the Cooper Creek basin and in the south-west of Western Australia. It is rare in the rest of Western Australia and in the Northern Territory.
The Stubble Quail lives in the grasslands and shrublands of temperate regions, usually in well-watered areas, but will move into arid areas after floods or rain. It prefers tall, dense vegetation, especially grasslands, but will use lower vegetation.

This is what they sound like

REF: Marc Anderson, XC688920. Accessible at https://www.xeno-canto.org/688920.

Breeding is influenced by rainfall, cover and food availability. They can breed any time of the year. They have been known to move into an area after rain breaks a drought and breed in huge numbers with up to four clutches of chicks. The build their nests on the ground often in areas such as grasslands, paddocks of cereal crops, especially ones with undergrowth, and under small shrubs. The nest is a scrape in the ground lined with dried grass or pieces of nearby vegetation. Only the female sits on the eggs and she will pull surrounding vegetation over the nest as a cover at this stage. The chicks are led away from the nest almost straight away after hatching, and are fairly independent.

REF: https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Coturnix-pectoralis