The bearded wood partridge (''Dendrortyx barbatus'') is a
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
species in the family
Odontophoridae
The New World quail are small birds only distantly related to the Old World quail, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family, the Odontophoridae, whereas Old World quail are in the pheasant f ...
, the New World quail. It inhabits the
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
of Mexico.
Taxonomy and systematics
The bearded wood partridge shares the genus ''Dendrortyx'' with two other species, all of which appear to be quite distinct from each other.
[Eitniear, J. C. (2020). Bearded Wood-Partridge (''Dendrortyx barbatus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bewpar1.01 retrieved September 10, 2021] It is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
.
Description
The bearded wood partridge is long and weighs between . 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.
[
]
Distribution 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.montane forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
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
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...
zones.[
]
Behavior
Feeding
The bearded wood partridge forages on the ground. Its diet includes seeds, fruits, buds, tubers, and insects.[
]
Breeding
Little is known about the bearded wood partridge's breeding phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation).
Examples includ ...
. Is is reported to breed between April and June. The male makes a dome-shaped nest with a tunnel entrance. The clutch size is usually five.[
]
Vocalization
The bearded wood-partridge's song is "a series of loud, rollicking whistles, repeated rapidly and often given in duet". The sexes' songs are similar but the female's is quieter. The song is mostly given at dawn and dusk. Groups sing to maintain contact.[
]
Status
The IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has assessed the bearded wood partridge as Vulnerable since 2000 after initially rating it Critically Endangered. " rveys have found this species to be more widespread and numerous than previously thought, however it still has a highly fragmented range and small population undergoing a continuous decline."[
]
References
External links
BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1264029
bearded wood partridge
Endemic birds of Eastern Mexico
bearded wood partridge
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Birds of the Sierra Madre Oriental
Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca