Tuxtla Quail-Dove
Zentrygon carrikeri
Very local, poorly known, and elusive dove of humid evergreen forest in foothills and mountains of Sierra de Los Tuxtlas, near Catemaco in southern Veracruz. Feeds mainly on the forest floor, walking quickly away or flushing explosively from close range. May be seen beside quiet trails early and late in the day. Heard more often than seen. Note the white face with a black whisker, and blue-gray hindneck and breast.
Identification
The Tuxtla quail-dove is 20 to 31.5 cm (7.9 to 12.4 in) long. The adult's head, neck, throat and breast are light bluish gray and the flanks light brown. It has a wide black malar stripe. Its back and wings are olive brown with little iridescence. Juveniles are darker all over with cinnamon edges to the upperparts' feathers and buff bars on the breast.
Taxonomy
The Tuxtla quail-dove is monotypic. It and the purplish-backed quail-dove (Zentrygon lawrencii) of Central America were previously considered conspecific.
- Scientific name
- Zentrygon carrikeri
- Authority
- (Wetmore, 1941)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Zentrygon
Range and habitat
The Tuxtla quail-dove is found only on two volcanoes in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas of southeastern Mexico's Veracruz state, Volcán de San Martín and Sierra de Santa Marta. It inhabits humid evergreen forest and cloudforest at elevations between 350 and 2,100 m (1,150 and 6,890 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Tuxtla quail-dove forages singly or in pairs. No details of its diet have been published but it probably feeds on fruit, seeds, and invertebrates found in leaf litter.<p>The only documented Tuxtla quail-dove nest was a loosely constructed platform supported by bamboo shoots; it contained one egg.<p>The Tuxtla quail-dove's song is "a three-syllable note 'whu-hu-whUuuw', with a clear emphasis on the last syllable." The overslurred last syllable is all that is usually heard at a distance.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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