The rufous-fronted wood quail (''Odontophorus erythrops'') 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 ...
, the New World quail. It is found in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
.
Taxonomy and systematics
The rufous-fronted wood quail has at various times been proposed or considered as
conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...
with
chestnut wood quail
The chestnut wood quail (''Odontophorus hyperythrus'') is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found only in Colombia.
Taxonomy and systematics
The chestnut wood quail has at various times been proposed or ...
(''Odonophorus hyperythrus''),
dark-backed wood quail
The dark-backed wood quail (''Odontophorus melanonotus'') is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
Taxonomy and systematics
The dark-backed wood quail is one of 15 species in th ...
(''O. melanonotus''), and
rufous-breasted wood quail
The rufous-breasted wood quail (''Odontophorus speciosus'') is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae. It is found in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru primarily on the east side of the Andes between 800 and 2000m in elevation (higher in Peru).
...
(''O. speciosus''). ''O. melanonotus'' has also been considered a subspecies of ''O. erythrops'', and at least two other variations have been proposed as subspecies. As of 2021, rufous-fronted wood quail and chestnut wood quail are treated as a
superspecies.
[Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021][Carroll, J. P., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail (''Odontophorus erythrops''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rfwqua1.01 retrieved September 11, 2021]
The rufous-fronted wood quail has two subspecies, the nominate ''O. e. erythrops'' and ''O. e. parambae''.
[ To complicate matters, the latter has also been considered to be a separate species.][
]
Description
The rufous-fronted wood quail is long. Males weigh an estimated and females an estimated . The nominate male has a rufous crown, crest, and face, with a ring of bare purple skin around the eye. The back and rump can be black or olive, with black spots. The breast and belly are dark rufous. The female's face is a darker and duller chestnut and the eye ring is blue-black. The juvenile is similar to the female but differs mostly by having black spots and bars on the belly. ''O. e. parambae'' has darker upperparts than the nominate and a white throat.[
]
Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies of rufous-fronted wood quail is found in southwestern Ecuador. ''O. e. parambae'' is found more widely, on the Pacific slope of western Ecuador and western Colombia and in Colombia's Magdalena Valley
The Magdalena River Valley ( es, Valle del Río Magdalena) is a valley in Colombia located within the Colombian Andes. The valley is specifically situated between the Central and Eastern Ranges and crossed by the river of the same name, the Magda ...
. They inhabit primary and secondary humid tropical forest
Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds.
Some tropical fores ...
, in Ecuador up to but usually only as high as in Colombia.[
]
Behavior
Feeding
The rufous-fronted wood quail's diet has not been studied, but they have been noted coming to grain at lodge feeders.[
]
Breeding
The rufous-fronted wood quail's breeding season is believed to span from January to May. No other information about its breeding phenology has been published.[
]
Vocalization
The rufous-fronted wood quail has at least two calls, a "rapidly repeated, ringing duet 'chowita, chowita, chowita'" and "a resonant 'koo-klaw, koo-klaw, koo-klaw'".[
]
Status
The IUCN has assessed the rufous-fronted wood quail as being of Least Concern.[ The species is found in several protected areas, but outside them " jor threats include deforestation, and possibly hunting."][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1259880
rufous-fronted wood quail
The rufous-fronted wood quail (''Odontophorus erythrops'') is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
Taxonomy and systematics
The rufous-fronted wood quail has at various tim ...
Birds of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena
rufous-fronted wood quail
The rufous-fronted wood quail (''Odontophorus erythrops'') is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
Taxonomy and systematics
The rufous-fronted wood quail has at various tim ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot