| Singing quail | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Odontophoridae |
| Genus: | Dactylortyx Ogilvie-Grant, 1893 |
| Species: | D. thoracicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dactylortyx thoracicus (Gambel, 1848) | |
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The singing quail (Dactylortyx thoracicus) is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. [2]
The singing quail is the only member of its genus and has 11 subspecies. Several other subspecies have been proposed but have not been validated; those forms are included within the 11 accepted subspecies. [2] [3]
The singing quail is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long. Males weigh 180 to 266 g (6.3 to 9.4 oz) and females 115 to 206 g (4.1 to 7.3 oz). The smallest birds are found near sea level and the largest in the mountains. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown crown, a buff and black "collar", and a tawny orange face with a black streak behind the eye. The back and wings are mottled gray and brown with thin white streaks; the rump is olive brown or gray and has black vermiculation. The breast and belly are grayish brown with white streaks and the lower belly is white. The female has a gray face and white throat and the breast and flanks are paler brown. Juveniles are similar to females but with blackish spots on the underparts. There is much variation among the other subspecies but in general those in mountain forests are darker than those in dryer lowlands. [3]
The singing quail is found in several separate areas in northern, western, and southern Mexico; the Yucatán Peninsula; northern Belize; much of Guatemala, and spottily in El Salvador and Honduras. In general it inhabits the floor of forests with sparse undergrowth; it is also found in older secondary forest, at the edges of old-growth forest, in clear cuts, and coffee plantations. Forest types include subtropical montane forest and cloudforest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to at least 3,000 m (9,800 ft). [3]
The singing quail often forages in coveys of three to five birds but groups of up to 12 have been observed. It scratches for food in leaf litter and soil, feeding on bulbs, seeds, and insects. [3]
The singing quail's breeding season appears to span from February to October. Broods of two to four have been recorded in Yucatán. Little else is known about its breeding phenology. [3]
The singing quail has a "[l]oud, far-carrying, rhythmic song". It "commences with a series of hesitant, plaintive whistles, which increase in frequency and pitch into a rapidly delivered series, on varying pitch" and may be sung by several members of a covey. Coveys also give a weak twittering contact call. [3]
The IUCN has assessed the singing quail as being of Least Concern. [1] It appears to have a population exceeding 100,000 birds, is locally common, and is "apparently more capable of withstanding habitat destruction and fragmentation than other quails" of Middle America. However, "[t]hreats include deforestation, and possibly hunting and grazing in forests." [3]
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 jungle bush quail is a species of quail in the family Phasianidae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, where it is found in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It has also been reported from Nepal but has not been seen there since the 19th century, and an introduced population exists on the island of Réunion. A small species of quail 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) long and weighing 57–82 g (2.0–2.9 oz), it shows significant sexual dimorphism. Males have brown upperparts with blackish and buff marking and whitish underparts with black barring. The face is mainly dark reddish-brown, with brown ear-coverts, a buffy-white moustachial stripe, and the supercilium turning whitish towards the back of the neck. Females have a similar pattern, but with pinkish-brown underparts, more uniform wings, and duller moustachial stripes.
The Montezuma quail is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's quail, the harlequin quail, and the fool quail.
The white-bellied emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The common hill partridge, necklaced hill partridge, or simply hill partridge is a species of bird in the pheasant family found in Asia.
The ocellated quail is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
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 tawny-faced quail is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The Yucatan nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.
The Yucatan poorwill is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the Yucatán Peninsula of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.
The tawny-winged woodcreeper is a passerine bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The rufous-breasted spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
The spot-breasted wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The white-bellied wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
The ivory-billed woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The Yucatan woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is sometimes referred to as the red-vented woodpecker. The Yucatan woodpecker is found in Belize and Mexico, and ranges over the entire Yucatán Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.
The spot-bellied bobwhite is a ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the crested bobwhite, Colinus cristatus. As the latter species expands north into Costa Rica, it is likely that the two species will overlap in range in the future, but the Costa Rican subspecies of the spot-bellied is the least similar to the crested.
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.
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