| Bearded wood partridge | |
|---|---|
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| Illustration by John Gould & H. C. Richter | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Odontophoridae |
| Genus: | Dendrortyx |
| Species: | D. barbatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dendrortyx barbatus Gould, 1846 | |
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The bearded wood partridge (Dendrortyx barbatus) is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It inhabits the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. [2]
The bearded wood partridge shares the genus Dendrortyx with two other species, all of which appear to be quite distinct from each other. [3] It is monotypic. [4]
The bearded wood partridge is 33 to 35.5 cm (13.0 to 14.0 in) long and weighs between 405 and 459 g (14.3 and 16.2 oz). Adults have bluish gray cheeks, neck, and upper chest. There is a red patch around the eye. The crown is buff and has a small crest. The nape and chest are cinnamon, with red striations on the nape and sides of the chest. The back is a mix of buff, browns, and grays. Immatures are similar to the adults but their chest is duller and the flanks have brown bars. [3]
The bearded wood partridge has a discontinuous range in the central part of Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental. The Santo Domingo River in northern Oaxaca and western slope of the Sierra Madre Oriental act as biogeographic barriers. [5] [6] It inhabits the interiors and edges of humid evergreen montane forest and pine-oak forest, both primary and secondary. It is also found in gardens and sometimes in farmland. It is often restricted to narrow riparian zones. [3]
The bearded wood partridge forages on the ground. Its diet includes seeds, fruits, buds, tubers, and insects. [3]
Little is known about the bearded wood partridge's breeding phenology. It is reported to breed between April and June. The male makes a dome-shaped nest with a tunnel entrance. The clutch size is usually five. [3]
The bearded wood-partridge's song is "a series of loud, rollicking whistles, repeated rapidly and often given in duet". The sexes' songs are similar but the female's is quieter. The song is mostly given at dawn and dusk. Groups sing to maintain contact. [3]
The IUCN has assessed the bearded wood partridge as Vulnerable since 2000 after initially rating it Critically Endangered. "[S]urveys have found this species to be more widespread and numerous than previously thought, however it still has a highly fragmented range and small population undergoing a continuous decline." [1]
The bearded vulture, also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian vulture, its closest living relative. It is not much more closely related to the Old World vultures proper than to, for example, hawks, and differs from the former by its feathered neck. Although dissimilar, the Egyptian and bearded vulture each have a lozenge-shaped tail—unusual among birds of prey. It is vernacularly known as Homa, a divine bird in Iranian mythology.
The Mexican jay formerly known as the gray-breasted jay, is a New World jay native to the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, and Central Plateau of Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States. In May 2011, the American Ornithologists' Union voted to split the Mexican jay into two species, one retaining the common name Mexican jay and one called the Transvolcanic jay. The Mexican jay is a medium-sized jay with blue upper parts and pale gray underparts. It resembles the Woodhouse's scrub-jay, but has an unstreaked throat and breast. It feeds largely on acorns and pine nuts, but includes many other plant and animal foods in its diet. It has a cooperative breeding system where the parents are assisted by other birds to raise their young. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Sierra Madre sparrow, also known as Bailey's sparrow, is an endangered, range-restricted, enigmatic American sparrow. It is endemic to Mexico and is threatened with extinction through habitat loss.
Philby's partridge or Philby's rock partridge, is a relative of the chukar, red-legged partridge and barbary partridges and is native to southwestern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen. Although similar in appearance to other Alectoris species, Philby's partridge can be distinguished by its black cheeks and throat. Although not currently listed as an endangered species, the Arab Spring and destruction of its fragile habitat in the tribal areas of Northern Yemen had led to concerns about the survival of this species. The name commemorates the British explorer St John Philby.
Audubon's oriole, formerly known as the black-headed oriole, is a New World passerine inhabiting the forests and thickets of southeastern Texas and the Mexican coast. It is the only species to have a black hood and yellow body. It is divided into four subspecies and two allopatric breeding ranges. The westernmost range extends from Nayarit south to southern Oaxaca, whereas the eastern range stretches from the lower Rio Grande valley to northern Querétaro. The most common in the western range are the subspecies I. g. dickeyae and I. g. nayaritensis; I. g. graduacauda and I. g. audubonii can be found in the eastern range. Like most Central American birds, it is not a migratory species and does not display significant sexual dimorphism. DNA analysis of the ND2 and cyt-b genes strongly suggests that I. graduacauda is most closely related to I. chrysater, the yellow-backed oriole. It is a member of the genus Icterus and therefore should not be confused with the Old World orioles.
The Zacatecan deer mouse or southern rock mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico, and is not considered endangered.
Dendrortyx is a bird genus in the family Odontophoridae. It contains the following species:
The buffy-crowned wood partridge is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
The long-tailed wood partridge is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found only in Mexico.
Szechenyi's monal-partridge or the buff-throated partridge, is a member of the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to western China.
The gray-barred wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
The mountain trogon, also known as the Mexican trogon, is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. First described by William John Swainson in 1827, it is resident in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico and has occurred in El Salvador as a vagrant. Like all trogons, the mountain trogon is sexually dimorphic. The male is metallic green on the crown, nape, upperparts and chest, the latter separated from its bright red belly and vent by a narrow band of white. The female is warm brown on the head, upperparts and chest, separated from its paler brown lower chest and red belly and vent by a narrow white band.
The Tamaulipan matorral is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental range in northeastern Mexico. It is a transitional ecoregion between the Tamaulipan mezquital and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the west and the Veracruz moist forests to the south.
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.
The Oaxacan montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in eastern Mexico. It includes a belt of montane tropical forest on the eastern slope of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca and eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ranges. These forests lie between the lowland Petén–Veracruz moist forests and Veracruz moist forests, and the pine–oak forests of the higher mountains.
Los Mármoles National Park is a protected natural area in northeastern Mexico. It is located in the western Sierra Madre Oriental of northern Hidalgo.
Omiltemi Ecological State Park is a protected area in southern Mexico. It is located in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero. The park includes well-preserved pine–oak forests and cloud forests.
Carpinus tropicalis is a species of tree native to central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Cornus excelsa is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood genus (Cornus). It is native to mountain forests of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
