Ocellated Quail
Cyrtonyx ocellatus
Small, elusive quail of brushy pine-oak woods in drier highlands; favors areas with oak scrub and bunchgrass. Usually in small groups; rarely flushes until almost stepped on. It can be seen beside quiet roads and trails, mainly early and late in day, but it usually remains well hidden in cover. Male has striking harlequin face pattern and rusty underparts with complex patterning. Female has a bushy crest and a trace of the male’s facial pattern. Similar species: female Crested Bobwhite.
Identification
The ocellated quail is 20.5 to 23 cm (8.1 to 9.1 in) long. Males weigh an estimated 218 g (7.7 oz) and females an estimated 182 g (6.4 oz). The adult male's face has a black and white harlequin pattern. Its crown and nape are buffy brown to olive brown with a thick tawny crest on the rear of the crown. The throat is white with black stripes. Its upperparts are gray and brown with cinnamon stripes and black spots. The central breast is tawny cinnamon and its edges gray with cinnamon spots. The belly is a deeper cinnamon, the flanks gray with cinnamon scallops, and the vent area black. The female's face is buffy and black, the crest tawny, and the upperparts brown with buff lines. The breast and belly are wine red with black bars and spots.
Taxonomy
The ocellated quail shares genus Cyrtonyx with the Montezuma quail (C. montezumae) and Salle’s quail (C. sallei). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Cyrtonyx ocellatus
- Authority
- (Gould, 1837)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Odontophoridae
- Genus
- Cyrtonyx
Range and habitat
The ocellated quail is or was found in far southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and possibly Nicaragua. Only in Guatemala have there been a significant number of sightings since the late 1900s, with none in El Salvador and in Nicaragua only a c. 1900 specimen and a few early 2000s sight records near the Honduran border. It inhabits shrubland and open pine and oak forest, generally between 750 and 3,050 m (2,460 and 10,010 ft) of elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The ocellated quail is entirely terrestrial. It forages for tubers and roots by digging with its feet. Especially during the breeding season it also takes a variety of insects.<p>Almost nothing is known about the ocellated quail's breeding phenology. In Guatemala it is reported to breed between April and August. The nest and eggs have not been described.<p>Though they have not been described in detail, the ocellated quail's vocalizations are similar to those of Montezuma quail. The male apparently sings "a single descending, buzzy whistle" and the female "a descending series of short notes".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Spot-breasted Ibis
Bostrychia rara
Small, dark, forest-dwelling ibis. Note the blue bare skin on the face and the heavily spotted breast and neck. Found in the understory of moist rainforest. Very shy and generally scarce bird. The vocalization is a honking, two-parted goose-like call. Similar to Olive Ibis, but smaller and slimmer, with heavy spotting, blue facial skin, and a different call. Somewhat like Hadada Ibis, but much smaller, and found in forest rather than more open habitats.
Mao
Gymnomyza samoensis
A large, entirely dark honeyeater. Plumage becomes paler from the shoulders back, turning blackish to yellowish-olive. Note the caramel-colored moustache stripe below the eye. Dependent on native primary forest in foothills and montane areas. Voice includes a sequence of rising nasal piping notes, vocal and loud.
California Gull
Larus californicus
Medium-sized gull, a bit larger than Ring-billed Gull and smaller than Herring Gull. Adults have medium-gray upperparts (slightly darker than Herring Gull), and red and black markings on the bill. Takes four years for immatures to progress from mostly brown to fully white and gray adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Many immatures show a pink bill with a contrasting black tip, and dull pinkish or greenish-gray legs. Always note dark eye. Common and fairly widespread in western North America, inland and along the coast. Can be found at parking lots, beaches, or lakes, often in flocks with Herring and Ring-billed Gulls.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.