Often the first sign that a Painted Button-quail is present in a dry, open forest is not a sighting of the bird, nor hearing its call, but a shallow depression of bare soil among the leaf litter. These bare patches, round and about 15 centimetres across, are called platelets. Painted Button-quails forage for seeds and insects on the ground by spinning about on alternate legs to expose items of food among the leaves and on the soil surface, and it is this action that forms the platelets.
The female is the larger and more coloured of these small, plump, well-camouflaged ground-dwellers. The overall colouration is grey, with large white spots on the breast which fade to off-white around the legs and vent. The face has small black-edged white spots with a white eyebrow. The wings and back of the female are mostly chestnut, with white spots and black, white-edged bars on the wing. The male is similar but the chestnut colour is replaced with buff.
A booming call similar to a Common Bronzewing, is used in courtship and between pairs that have lost contact while foraging. Bird call recorded by: Marc Anderson
