The buff-fronted quail-dove, or Costa Rican quail-dove (''Zentrygon costaricensis''), is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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
Columbidae
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
. It is found in
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
[Schulenberg, T. S. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Buff-fronted Quail-Dove (''Zentrygon costaricensis''), 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.bfqdov1.01 retrieved September 23, 2021]
Taxonomy and systematics
The buff-fronted quail-dove was originally described in genus ''Geotrygon'', later placed in genus ''Oreopeleia'', and still later in its present ''Zentrygon''. Its relationships with the other members of its genus have not been fully resolved.
[ The buff-fronted quail-dove 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 buff-fronted quail-dove is long. Two males weighed and two females . The adult's head, neck, and breast are medium gray, the nape and upper back have a green tinge while the belly grades to brownish. The back, wings and tail are maroon. The head has a distinct pattern of light gray cheeks bordered above and below by narrow black stripes that extend just past the eye, as well as the namesake buffy forehead ("front"). The eye is brown surrounded by a slim but noticeable red ring, the legs are bright coral-red, and the bill is dull brown with a reddish cast at the base. The juvenile's crown and nape are dusky gray with a green gloss. Its upperparts are dull chestnut with indistinct dusky bars and cinnamon tips to the feathers. Its underparts have gray and cinnamon bars and freckles and the belly is buff.[
]
Distribution and habitat
The buff-fronted quail-dove is a year round resident from northern Costa Rica's Cordillera de Guanacaste
The Cordillera de Guanacaste, also called Guanacaste Cordillera, are a volcanic mountain range in northern Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua. The mountain range stretches 110 km from northwest to the southeast and contains mostly comp ...
southeast into western Panama as far as Veraguas Province
Veraguas () is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of 10,587.6&nb ...
. It inhabits the Talamancan montane forest ecoregion. In elevation it ranges from in Costa Rica and from in Panama.[
]
Behavior
Feeding
The buff-fronted quail-dove forages alone or in pairs, searching leaf litter on the forest floor. Its diet is not well known but includes fruit, seeds, and probably insects.[
]
Breeding
Little is known about the buff-fronted quail-dove'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 ...
. The one described nest was a nearly flat platform made of coarse twigs, moss, and liverwort
The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...
s. It was almost above the ground on a horizontal branch of a tall shrub and contained one nestling.[
]
Vocalization
The buff-fronted quail-dove's song is "a low, hollow hoOOOO", louder towards the end and with a slightly rising inflection".[
]
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 buff-fronted quail-dove as being of Least Concern.[ Though it has a relatively small range, it is fairly common in it and its population appears to be stable.][
]
References
Further reading
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074685
buff-fronted quail-dove
The buff-fronted quail-dove, or Costa Rican quail-dove (''Zentrygon costaricensis''), is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.Schulenberg, T. S. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Buff-fronted Quail-Dove (''Zen ...
Birds of the Talamancan montane forests
buff-fronted quail-dove
The buff-fronted quail-dove, or Costa Rican quail-dove (''Zentrygon costaricensis''), is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.Schulenberg, T. S. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Buff-fronted Quail-Dove (''Zen ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot