Marbled wood quail | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Odontophoridae |
Genus: | Odontophorus |
Species: | O. gujanensis |
Binomial name | |
Odontophorus gujanensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | |
The marbled wood quail (Odontophorus gujanensis), also known as the Amazonian wood quail, is a species of bird in the New World quail family. It has an extensive distribution in Central America and the northern part of South America. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The marbled wood quail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the other quail like birds in the genus Tetrao and coined the binomial name Tetrao gujanensis. [2] Gmelin based his description on the Comte de Buffon's "Le Tocro ou Perdrix de la Guyane" and John Latham's "Guiana partridge". [3] [4] The marbled wood quail is now placed with around 14 other species in the genus Odontophorus that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. [5] [6] The genus name Odontophorus is from Ancient Greek meaning "bearing teeth", from odous "tooth" and pherō "to carry". The specific epithet gujanensis means "from the Guianas". [7]
Eight subspecies are recognised: [6]
Adult marbled wood quails grow to a length of between 23 and 29 cm (9 and 11 in). The bill is stout and dark-coloured and the legs and feet are bluish-grey. The iris of the eye is brown and there is orange or red bare skin around the eye. The sexes are similar in appearance; the front of the crown and cheeks are reddish-brown and the dark brown, vermiculated feathers on the crown are ruffled to form a short, loose crest. The mantle and neck are greyish-brown, the back and wings are brown with black vermiculations and the rump and upper-tail coverts are indistinctly spotted with paler colour. The underparts are drab brown with some indistinct barring in buff and darker brown. Juvenile birds are similar in appearance to the adults but have reddish-orange bills and non-vermiculated, reddish-brown crests. [8]
The marbled wood quail has an extensive distribution in Central America and the northern part of South America. Its range extends from Costa Rica and Panama, where it is feared extinct, to Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, the Guianas and Brazil. [1] It is a ground-dwelling bird, inhabiting the undergrowth in lowland rainforests and cloud forests, occurring at elevations of up to 900 m (3,000 ft) in Ecuador, 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Colombia and 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Venezuela. [8]
The marbled wood quail is an elusive bird, moving about in the undergrowth and seldom seen, but its distinctive calls can often be heard, particularly at dawn and dusk. It sometimes emerges into the open but stays close to fallen trees or scrub to facilitate an easy retreat. On disturbance, it tends to move away quietly on foot, but will burst into flight if necessary. It usually occurs in small groups that move in single file, foraging through the leaf litter for invertebrates and fallen fruits. Nests are sometimes found at the foot of a tree, with about four white eggs, sometimes spotted with brown, in a shallow scrape concealed under a roof of dead leaves; the breeding season varies with locality. [8]
The total number of marbled wood quails are thought to be decreasing as their forest habitat in the Amazon basin is increasingly being cleared to provide grazing land for cattle and agricultural land for Soybean production. They are to some extent adaptable to living in secondary growth forest, but the increasing road network puts them at risk of increased hunting. The International Union for Conservation of Nature expects the population to dwindle by 25 to 30% over the next three generations of birds and has assessed their conservation status as being "near threatened". [1]
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
The agami heron is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeding bird from Central America south to Peru and Brazil. It is sometimes known as the chestnut-bellied heron, and is the only member of the genus Agamia. In Brazil it is sometimes called Soco beija-flor, meaning 'hummingbird heron', thanks to its unique coloration pattern.
The Brazilian teal or Brazilian duck is the only duck in the genus Amazonetta. It is widely distributed in eastern South America.
The rufous-browed peppershrike is a passerine bird in the vireo family. It is widespread and often common in woodland, forest edge, and cultivation with some tall trees from Mexico and Trinidad south to Argentina and Uruguay.
The great tinamou is a species of tinamou ground bird native to Central and South America. There are several subspecies, mostly differentiated by their coloration.
The variegated tinamou a type of tinamou commonly found in moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions of northern South America.
The stone partridge is a bird of the New World quail family. This largely brown bird, which commonly holds its tail raised, is found in scrubland and lightly wooded habitats, often near rocks, from Kenya and Ethiopia to Gambia.
The cinereous tinamou, also known as brushland tinamou, is a type of ground bird found in swamp and lowland forests in northern South America. They have some localized names that have been used by the indigenous people such as in Amazonas where they are called inambu-pixuna, and in Pará, Brazil where they are called nambu-sujo. Also, throughout their range they are called inhambu-preto. Cinereous tinamous have been around for many centuries. They are part of the oldest families of the world today and have fossils discovered dating back tens of millions of years. Their quick reflexes play a role in their ability to survive.
The black-fronted wood quail is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.
The zigzag heron is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae, also including egrets and bitterns. It is in the monotypic genus Zebrilus. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps.
The white-tailed nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the tropic regions of Central and South America.
The azure gallinule is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The white-banded swallow is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It is black with white thighs, a white breast, and has white bars on the edges of its wings. It has a distinct, deeply forked tail.
The chestnut-belted gnateater is a species of bird in the family Conopophagidae, the gnateaters. It is found in the Amazon Basin of northern Brazil, southern Colombia and eastern Peru and Ecuador; also the Guianan countries of Guyana, Suriname and eastern French Guiana. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest.
The whiskered myiobius or bearded flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tityridae, having previously been included in Tyrannidae. A number of taxonomic authorities continue to place with the flycatchers. The whiskered myiobius is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
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The coraya wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae, the wrens.
The wood quails are birds in the genus Odontophorus of the New World quail family, which are residents in forests in the Americas. The core range of the genus is centered in the lowlands and foothills of the northern Andes of Colombia and the mountain ranges of Central America; however, some species occur elsewhere in tropical and subtropical South America.