The crested bobwhite (''Colinus cristatus'') is a species of

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 ...

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 ...

. It is found in northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, extending through

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

to just reach

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. It also occurs on

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

and the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

, and heavily degraded former forest.

Description

Adult crested bobwhite are about long. The sexes are very similar in appearance. The long feathers on the fore-head and crown are pale buff or white, and the crest feathers may be dark. The back and sides of the neck are marbled in black and white and the throat is white or buff, sometimes spotted with black. The upper parts are mottled black, brown and grey. The underparts are pale, with buff, cinnamon and black markings. The eye is brown, the beak black and the legs bluish-grey. The female is slightly browner than the male.

Behaviour

The crested bobwhite occurs in small groups on the ground in or near thick cover and its behaviour is rather similar to that of the

northern bobwhite The northern bobwhite (''Colinus virginianus''), also known as the Virginia quail or (in its home range) bobwhite quail, is a ground-dwelling bird native to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, with introduced populations elsewhere in th ...

(''Colinus virginianus''). The diet consists of buds, shoots, leaves and small invertebrates. The male's call, heard in the breeding season, is distinctive; a fast, husky, three-syllable "quoit bob-white" or a two-syllable "oh, wheet".

Status

The crested bobwhite has a very wide range and is common in much of that range. The population seems to be on the increase and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q961494

crested bobwhite The crested bobwhite (''Colinus cristatus'') is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae. It is found in northern South America, extending through Panama to just reach Costa Rica. It also occurs on Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. Its ...

Birds of Panama Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of the Netherlands Antilles Birds of the Guianas

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Birds of the Caribbean