Barred Buttonquail

Barred buttonquails are small, ground-dwelling birds of grassy plains, abandoned rice fields, scrub and other places offering dense cover. Their Asian range extends from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka through Myanmar to China, Taiwan and the Philippines. Adults have mottled blackish-gray, chestnut and whitish plumage that blends with dry vegetation. Females are generally larger and more brightly colored than males and possess a contrasting black throat. (Animal Diversity Web)

The species has an unusual breeding system in which females advertise with low booming or purring calls and may mate with several males. A female generally lays four eggs before leaving incubation principally to the male. Hatching takes about thirteen days, producing mobile, precocial chicks. Barred buttonquails usually occur alone or in small groups and eat grass seeds, millet, fresh plant material, insects and other small invertebrates. (Animal Diversity Web)