Bearded Wood-Partridge

Dendrortyx barbatus

Very elusive, chickenlike bird of humid evergreen forest in foothills and highlands; scarce and very local in eastern Mexico where it is endemic. Usually in pairs or small groups on the forest floor. May be seen beside quiet trails and roads early and late in the day; runs away quickly and rarely flies. Note the blue-gray face and throat, red bill and eyering, and rusty breast. Loud rollicking songs are given mainly early and late in the day and most often reveal its presence.

Identification

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.

Taxonomy

The bearded wood partridge shares the genus Dendrortyx with two other species, all of which appear to be quite distinct from each other. It is monotypic.

Scientific name
Dendrortyx barbatus
Authority
Gould, 1846
Order
Galliformes
Family
Odontophoridae
Genus
Dendrortyx

Range and habitat

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. 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.

Migration
Resident species

Behavior

Migration pattern: Resident species.

Conservation

Population trend: declining.

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Delicate Prinia

Delicate Prinia

Prinia lepida

Tiny, disproportionately long-tailed, active, and vocal. The upperparts are gray-brown with heavy dark streaking, the underparts are pale, and each tail feather shows both pale and dark tips. Generally found in rather moist habitats within arid zones, including field margins, riparian woodland, scrub, gardens, and wetlands; can be quite numerous. Very vocal, especially in spring. The song is a rattling series of dry chirps, subtly different from the slower-paced song of Graceful Prinia. Males often sing from obvious perches. Visually extremely similar to Graceful Prinia, but there is little overlap in range. In any areas of overlap, best separated by song, but Delicate is also slightly longer- and narrower-tailed and browner.

Indian Robin

Indian Robin

Copsychus fulicatus

A nondescript robin; males are primarily black with chestnut bottom feathers, although males in the northern population have brownish upperparts. Males also have a white shoulder patch and a relatively long tail. Females have completely brown upperparts, lack the male’s white shoulder patch, and have grayish-brown underparts. They are generally seen in pairs, foraging on the ground with the tail cocked up. Found in open country, at forest edges, around human habitation, and in scrub lands.

White-streaked Antvireo

White-streaked Antvireo

Dysithamnus leucostictus

Small antbird found inside cloud forest along the east slope of Andes and in Venezuela’s coastal mountains. Male is black with small white spots on wings that usually form parallel lines; faint streaking on breast is almost impossible to see in the field. Female is very different, with chestnut upperparts and grayish underparts covered with broad, pale stripes. Inhabits forest understory. Usually heard before seen. Vocalizations include a rising and then falling series of notes, an abrupt churr, and a series of dry rattles.

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