Venezuelan Wood-Quail
Odontophorus columbianus
A robust and beautiful forest-dwelling quail with a short crest and a stout bill. Mostly rufous-brown body, boldly scaled white below and streaked white above. White throat bordered by black collar.. Female lacks white dots and streaks, instead showing grayish underparts. Hard to see but easily detected by voice in small groups walking on floor of cloud forests, most often in mature forest with understory rich in palms. Sings loudly in duets or choruses. Marbled Wood-Quail has a bare orange ocular area and lacks white throat. Endemic two Venezuela with two isolated populations.
Identification
The Venezuelan wood quail is 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) long. Males are estimated to weigh 343 g (12.1 oz) and females 336 g (11.9 oz). Adult males have a white throat and chin with black streaks. The rest of the plumage is reddish brown with large white marks on the breast, belly, and flanks. The female has paler brown underparts with less conspicuous white marks, and the juvenile is similar to the female.
Taxonomy
Some authors have suggested that the Venezuelan wood quail and gorgeted wood quail (Odontophorus strophium), Tacarcuna wood quail (O. dialeucos), black-fronted wood quail (O. atrifons), and black-breasted wood quail (O. lecuolaemus) are actually a single species, but this treatment has not been accepted by the major avian taxonomic systems. The species is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Odontophorus columbianus
- Authority
- Gould, 1850
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Odontophoridae
- Genus
- Odontophorus
Range and habitat
The Venezuelan wood quail is principally found in the central part of Venezuela's Coastal Range, from Carabobo east to northwestern Miranda. There are also two sight records from Táchira in the west near the Colombian border. It inhabits the floor of subtropical cloudforest at elevations between 800 and 2,400 m (2,600 and 7,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Venezuelan wood quail forages by scratching litter and bare soil to feed on seeds, fruits, insects, worms, and roots.<p>The Venezuelan wood quail's breeding season begins in March and is thought to extend to the end of July. One nest has been found; it was at the base of palms, had a roof of vegetation, and contained six eggs.<p>The Venezuelan wood quail's advertising call is "a rapidly repeated antiphonal duet" rendered as "churdole-chur-it, churdole-chur-it...".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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