Coveys break up in late winter and birds pair off from around late August.
“The nest is considered most difficult to find. In fact the only chance of coming across it is by accidentally flushing the sitting bird, which often rises at your feet. The nest itself is a simple affair, a hollow in the ground lined with grass and made comfortable for the big batch of eggs. In most cases there is a canopy of grass over the nest, which must be as cosy as any nest could be. A site in the midst of long grass, under a log or small bush, perhaps a straggling blackberry, is usually selected.
“The laying season is mainly October, November and December. A clutch of 12 to 16 eggs may be laid. The eggs are creamy white, spotted dark and yellow brown, the size being 32 x 25 mm. The period of incubation is about 23 days and this duty is carried out by the hen bird.
“As soon as they are hatched, the tiny chicks are on the run, disappearing into the grass when the alarm is called by the hen. When danger has passed, they are called together again by the hen. In this way at least a few of the large brood escape predators.”
The chicks, in their first few weeks, eat mainly small insects, moving onto and adult diet of seeds of a wide variety of plants together with the leaves of clover and other grasses.
Greytown, Wairarapa, 2007.
