Family Odontophoridae

New World Quails

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General

Fairly small terrestrial birds with compact body, strong legs, and short wings.
Neotropical and Nearctic Regions.
Tropical, subtropical and temperate forests, forest edge, savanna and agricultural land, from sea-level to 3300 m.

17-37 cm.

10 genera, 35 species, 134 taxa.

7 species threatened;
none extinct since 1600.

Systematics

The New World quails are found primarily in the Neotropical Region and in the southern part of the Nearctic Region. The earliest fossil evidence is of a quail-like specimen found in Saskatchewan, Canada, dating to the Lower Oligocene some 37 million years ago, while there are also more recent...

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Morphological Aspects

The external appearance of the New World quails is very much like that of the Old World quails and partridges. In Latin America they are often lumped with the tinamous under the vernacular Spanish name “perdices...

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Habitat

The New World quails now inhabit a variety of ecosystems ranging from tropical rain forests to desert scrub. The group shows...

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General Habits

The New World quails are shy and elusive, and they invariably prefer to hide and crouch in the vegetation, when alarmed, rather than flying away. If they do move off, many species are more likely to slip away...

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Voice

The rather primitive, poorly developed tracheal syrinx found in the Odontophoridae results in a rather simple vocal repertoire. However, despite this mechanical limitation, some species are reported to boast a fair number of...

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Food and Feeding

Most of the species in this family tend to be generalists and opportunists in terms of the food they take. The long lists of types of food consumed that are available for several of the better studied species...

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Breeding

The breeding biology of most of the Neotropical species of New World quails is neither well studied nor well understood, and a good deal of the very limited information available is anecdotal. Much more research is required on the diversity of reproductive patterns in this interesting group....

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Movements

The major mode of movement for the species in this group is walking, and this is consistent with the idea that virtually all species would be considered sedentary. Home range is very small, typically under 40...

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Relationship with Man

Like most of the other galliforms, the New World quails have a long history of association with man. This association has been both beneficial and detrimental at times, depending on the perceived value of the particular species and the land use practices.

Pre-Columbian cultures in...

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Status and Conservation

The current status of the New World quails ranges from a species that may be critically endangered to others which are common and widespread. In order to detect any serious declines before it is too late to act, efforts are being made to determine the current situation and conservation...

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General Bibliography

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Species list

List of species of the New World Quails (Odontophoridae) family. Each species provides information on taxonomy, descriptive notes, voice, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation and bibliography.

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Family Odontophoridae

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Distribution map of New World Quails

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