Fat Brown Bird

by Judy
(Mandeville, Louisiana)

We have noticed this bird several times lately, and have never noticed him before here in south Louisiana. He seems to stay alone on the ground and is very quiet; when we are near, he becomes completely motionless . He stays close to underbrush. He is very fat and round in appearance--almost like a ball--and is about the size of a very large dove. (At first, I thought it was a dove because he is so quiet and his head has a "dove-like" appearance with the exception of his beak.) He blends in well with the brown leaves and grass at this time of year (November) since he is primarily medium to dark brown with large, distinct black (or very dark brown) spots on his wings and back. We have not seen him in flight, so do not know what he looks like with wings spread. Hie has a long (3-4") pointed beak. He seems to sit on the ground so we also don't know how long his legs are, although I feel that they are fairly short. We have not heard his call. Very curious as to what this beautiful fellow is!