Quail

The 'wet my lips' call of the quail was commonly heard on the Lairiere plains throughout the summer but these migratory birds have been silent for some weeks now. So it was a surprise this evening to flush a bird from the edge of a yet to be harvesteed maize fields. In fact this was my first sighting this year as these birds are notoriously difficult to locate even when they appear to be calling just a few feet away. This individual may, of course, not be one that bred here but could be on passage from further north.
There is little else to report on this rather rainy day except that a little owl was calling in my garden this evening and a robin was still singing at 8pm.