Plains Wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus)
The plains-wanderer is a ground living iconic Australian bird. The adult male is kind of colored like a Brown Quail whereas adult females are much more colorful and larger than the males, having a characteristic white-spotted black collar. They need to be extremely good camouflagers, as they prefer rather open grassland as their habitat. As most of the ground living birds, when they are approached too close or flushed, they will run as opposed to flying. The female birds lay the eggs, which are then incubated by the males, which are also solely taking care of the chicks. The female may mate with another male for another clutch.
Hanna and I went to Deniliquin recently to see this bird guided by the fantastic Phil Maher, a renowned Plains Wanderer expert (http://www.philipmaher.com/main.htm). Hanna and I have enjoyed the few days with Phil very much and can recommend him to anyone who is keen to see Plains Wanderers.
Enjoy and if you like, feel free to provide comments via the Contact page!