Spot-bellied Bobwhite
Colinus leucopogon
Small quail of dry habitats in interior valleys and on the Pacific slope. Favors brushy fields, thorn scrub with grassy areas and open pine woods. Often seen along quiet roadsides early and late in the day. Usually in small groups, which flush explosively with a loud whirring of wings. Males in Guatemala and El Salvador have white face and throat. Males in Honduras and Nicaragua have bold whitish face stripes and dark throat. All females have buff eyebrow and throat. Frequently found by hearing its loud whistled bob-WHITE! call.
Identification
This species is 22–24 cm long and shows geographically variable male plumage amongst its six subspecies. All forms have a brown back with black spotting on the nape. The head has a white supercilium, a dark line through the eye, a white or brown throat and a short crest. The lower belly is spotted but the rest of the underparts are pale, entirely spotted, or spotted with a rufous chest depending on the subspecies. The male weighs 140 g on average. The female is duller than the male with a buff supercilium and mottled throat; her average weight is 115 g.<p>The song, most often given by males in spring and summer, is a rising, scratchy, bob-Wight! or bob-bob-White!.
Taxonomy
There are six recognized subspecies.<p>The subspecies in northwestern Honduras is known as Colinus leucopogon leylandi (Moore, 1859). The holotype specimen of "Ortyx leylandi" Moore (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1859, p.62.) is held in the collections of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession number 1989.66.19. The specimen was collected from "Flores, on the road from Omoa to Comayagua", Honduras, and purchased for the museum from Mr. Leyland on 9 November 1857.
- Scientific name
- Colinus leucopogon
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1842)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Odontophoridae
- Genus
- Colinus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The spot-bellied bobwhite forms "coveys", groups of three to 15 birds during the non-breeding season. Both males and females incubate nests, with most nests predominantly incubated by females. About 10 white eggs are laid. The chicks are precocial and will leave the nest few hours after hatching.<p>This shy species feeds on seeds and insects, the latter especially during the breeding season. It is most active in the early morning and evening.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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