When birdwatching in bushland areas, our attention is often drawn to species that occur in the trees and shrubs, or that move conspicuously by flying about and calling.

However, some birds are quite secretive in their habits and seldom fly or call at all.

The Painted Button-quail is one such example, preferring to skulk among the undergrowth and only occasionally venture out into the open.

They are particularly fond of dry open forests and woodlands with a sparse ground cover of grasses, a good layer of leaf-litter and areas of fallen timber, grass tussocks and stones.

They typically occur in pairs or small family parties, known as coveys, of up to six birds.

In the North East, Painted Button-quail are mostly found in gently undulating box-ironbark habitats, larger areas of open red gum forest on floodplains and occasionally in foothill forests nearer the ranges, especially on drier slopes and ridges.

They generally avoid moist dense grassy or sedgy areas (preferred by Brown Quail) or open grasslands, farmlands and crops (frequented by Stubble Quail).

Though Button-quails superficially resemble ‘true’ quails in their size, colouration and ground-dwelling lifestyle, they are actually unrelated to quails and are of closer genetic resemblance to shorebirds.

Unlike quails, Button-quails lack a hind toe (not easy to see in the bush!), they have reversed sexual dimorphism (with the female being larger and more brightly coloured than the male), and they have an unusual booming call, given mainly or only by the female in the breeding season.

Spending all of their time on the ground, Painted Button-quails forage among the leaf-litter gleaning seeds and small insects.

When foraging, they rake the forest floor with one foot and spin around in small circles pecking any uncovered food items with their beaks.

This activity creates small circular depressions (about 10-15 cm in diameter) in the leaf-litter.

These scrapes, known as platelets, are a sure sign that Painted Button-quail are not far away and are often the first indication of the birds presence.

If approached, they usually stay motionless and allow their camouflaged plumage to help them blend in with their surrounds.

If pressed, they may run briskly into cover or flush with whirring wings, flying low and fast through the trees before dropping back to cover some distance away.

During the breeding season, which extends from late winter to early summer, female Painted Button-quails attract males by giving a low repeated ‘oom’ advertising call.

Being polyandrous, females will mate with multiple males in the one season.

Females lay their eggs in a nest – a shallow scrape in the ground between a tussock or small shrub – but males then have the responsibility of incubating the eggs and raising the chicks.

Unfortunately, Painted Button-quails appear to have declined markedly over the past 20 years or so, being seen much less frequently and in smaller family groups.

Drought plays a major role in reducing leaf-litter organisms for them to feed on, and they are also highly vulnerable to predation from foxes and cats.

Locally, the best places to see Painted Button-quail are the Warby Ranges (especially the Killawarra forest) and the Chiltern-Mt Pilot forests.