Long-tailed Wood-Partridge
Dendrortyx macroura
Very elusive, chickenlike bird of humid evergreen and pine-evergreen forests in the highlands of central Mexico. 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 white stripes on black head, red bill and eyering, and overall gray-brown body; tail often held cocked, like a chicken. Loud rollicking songs are given mainly early and late in the day and most often reveal its presence.
Identification
The long-tailed wood partridge is 29.0 to 42.2 cm (11.4 to 16.6 in) long and weighs 266 to 465 g (9.4 to 16.4 oz). Males are heavier than females, and adults of both sexes have a long tail though the female's is somewhat shorter. In adults, most of the head is black; the face has white streaks above and below the eye. The short crest on the crown is tipped with buff. The upper back is chestnut edged with gray and the lower back is olive brown, black, and tawny mottling. The breast is bluish gray with chestnut streaks. The juvenile is similar but with dark brown spots and less chestnut on the underparts. There are variations among the subspecies, but it is unknown if there are vocal differences or genetic ones other than plumage color among them.
Taxonomy
The long-tailed wood partridge shares the genus Dendrortyx with two other species, all of which appear to be quite distinct from each other. It has these six subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Dendrortyx macroura
- Authority
- (Jardine & Selby, 1828)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Odontophoridae
- Genus
- Dendrortyx
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the long-tailed wood partridge are distributed in four discrete zones.<p>The long-tailed wood partridge inhabits humid pine-oak, pine, fir, and montane evergreen forests with dense understories. In elevation it ranges between 1,200 and 3,300 m (3,900 and 10,800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The long-tailed wood partridge forages mainly on the ground, scratching in leaf litter, but also climbs in low branches to search. Its diet is mostly seeds and small fruits but also includes small arthropods and leaves.<p>The long-tailed wood partridge's breeding season extends from February to September, with nesting itself beginning in late April. Four nests have been described. One was a depression lined with grass in a natural cavity in the ground. One was a cavity of pine needles at the base of a rock and the others were at the base of a rock outcrop and under a small shub. The last two were not well concealed. Three of them each contained four eggs and the other six eggs.<p>The long-tailed wood partridge's song is "complex, loud and rhythmic", usually given as a duet by both members of a pair. One description calls it "a loud, ringing korr-EEE-oh, korr-EEE-oh, korr-EEE-oh, korr-EEE-oh". Pairs vocalize at any time of day and night during the breeding season and mostly at dawn and dusk from a night roost otherwise. The species also has an alarm call, "a repetition of short low-pitched, unmodulated squeaky notes."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-headed Woodpecker
Picus erythropygius
Eye-searingly bright woodpecker decked out in primary colors. Combination of black face, pale eyes, yellow throat, green wings, bright red rump, and white belly is unmistakable. Males also have a bright red crown patch. Prefers dry deciduous and coniferous forests, usually in the lowlands and foothills. Moves about in small noisy bands. Song is a rollicking, rhythmic series of rather dry, husky yelps, somewhat reminiscent of chickens or deranged laughing, that often starts up seemingly out of nowhere.
Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant
Muscisaxicola maclovianus
Small and rather distinctive terrestrial flycatcher, breeding in the southern Andes at high elevation and migrating north in winter where it can also be found in lowlands. Breeds in open rocky areas, sometimes down to level of open forest. Migrants often in flocks, sometimes a few hundred birds, as on playing fields and beaches. Upperparts relatively dark gray with blackish face mask, and an inconspicuous dark rusty nape patch. Resident Falkland population larger and plainer overall, likely a different species; found on moorland and beaches.
Gray-lined Hawk
Buteo nitidus
Pale gray overall with yellow legs and base of bill; barred black-and-white tail. Subtle gray barring on underparts and upperparts. Adults extremely similar to Gray Hawk but essentially no range overlap; Gray Hawk lacks barring on back and crown. On adult in flight, note barred primary tips (black in Gray Hawk); absence of dark trailing edge to wings (present in Gray Hawk); dark gray uppertail coverts (white in Gray Hawk); and wider white subterminal tail band (all white tail bands equally wide in Gray Hawk). Lacks the rufous wing patches of Roadside Hawk. Juvenile most similar to Roadside Hawk; dark brown above and white below with dark streaks on underparts; note bolder white eyebrow and white cheek. Found singly in open wooded habitats, often perched conspicuously.
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