Western Quail-thrush

1. Males have a cinnamon-rufous breast with a chestnut band and black throat.

2. Both sexes show a solid chestnut or dark grey crown and back, with white and black in the tail visible in flight.

3. Females are duller, with a pale buff throat and grey breast band.

These birds are non-migratory and remain in their territories year-round. Western Quail-thrushes breed mainly in winter, with nesting from January to September and eggs typically laid from March to September. They usually nest after rainfall, as breeding is closely tied to periods when food is abundant. The nest is a bowl of grass, leaves, and twigs, placed under shrubs or trees. Females lay two, rarely three, white eggs with lavender and chestnut-brown blotches. Both parents share incubation, but the female broods and feeds the chicks. Their diet consists mainly of arthropods such as insects and spiders, and they are known for holding larger prey items underfoot while feeding.

Western Quail-thrushes inhabit dry woodland and shrubland with low understorey on stony ground, mostly in the arid interior of south-central Western Australia. They are also found marginally in the southwestern Northern Territory and extreme western South Australia. Look for them walking quietly among stones and sparse ground cover, especially at dawn and dusk. Their cryptic plumage and secretive habits make them difficult to spot, but their songa series of 5–11 whistles that speed up and end with high-pitched notescan help locate them.