Dendrortyx leucophrys
The Buffy-crowned Wood Partridge, *Dendrortyx leucophrys*, is a striking member of the New World quail family (Odontophoridae), renowned for its arboreal habits, a unique trait among many quail species. Measuring 28-35 cm (11-14 inches) in length and weighing 310-465 grams (10.9-16.4 oz), this bird sports a distinctive rufous-chestnut crown, a prominent buffy supercilium, and a gray face, contrasting with its olive-brown, black-streaked upperparts and grayish underparts with rufous flanks. It...
Inhabits humid evergreen, cloud, and montane evergreen forests, secondary growth, and coffee plantations, typically at elevations between 900 and 3,000 meters (3,000-9,800 feet).
Primarily omnivorous, its diet consists of various seeds, berries, fruits, tender leaves, buds, and a significant proportion of insects, foraged by scratching through leaf litter and gleaning from vegetation.
Primarily a diurnal species, the Buffy-crowned Wood Partridge is most active during early morning and late afternoon, often calling loudly at dawn and dusk from elevated perches. It forages mostly on the forest floor, scratching vigorously through leaf litter for food, but also readily climbs int...
The Buffy-crowned Wood Partridge is endemic to the highlands of Central America, found from southern Mexico (specifically Chiapas) southeast through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, extending into central Costa Rica. Its distribution is largely disjunct, occurring in suitable mont...
Least Concern
- Despite its name, this 'wood partridge' is more closely related to quails than true partridges, belonging to the New World Quail family (Odontophoridae). - It's often referred to as a 'ghost of the forest' because its loud, distinctive calls are frequently heard echoing through montane cloud fo...