The bearded wood partridge (''Dendrortyx barbatus'') is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

species in the family

Odontophoridae The New World quail are small birds, that despite their similar appearance and habits to the Old World quail, belong to a different family known as the Odontophoridae. In contrast, the Old World quail are in the Phasianidae family, sharing only ...

, the New World quail. It inhabits the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

of Mexico.

Taxonomy and systematics

The bearded wood partridge shares the genus ''Dendrortyx'' with two other species, all of which appear to be quite distinct from each other.Eitniear, J. C. (2020). Bearded Wood-Partridge (''Dendrortyx barbatus''), 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.bewpar1.01 retrieved September 10, 2021 It 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 "unisp ...

Description

The bearded wood partridge is long and weighs between . Adults have bluish gray cheeks, neck, and upper chest. There is a red patch around the eye. The crown is buff and has a small crest. The nape and chest are cinnamon, with red striations on the nape and sides of the chest. The back is a mix of buff, browns, and grays. Immatures are similar to the adults but their chest is duller and the flanks have brown bars.

Distribution and habitat

The bearded wood partridge has a discontinuous range in the central part of Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental. The Santo Domingo River in northern Oaxaca and western slope of the Sierra Madre Oriental act as biogeographic barriers. It inhabits the interiors and edges of humid evergreen

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and pine-oak forest, both primary and secondary. It is also found in gardens and sometimes in farmland. It is often restricted to narrow

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

zones.

Behavior

Feeding

The bearded wood partridge forages on the ground. Its diet includes seeds, fruits, buds, tubers, and insects.

Breeding

Little is known about the bearded wood partridge's breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leav ...

. It is reported to breed between April and June. The male makes a dome-shaped nest with a tunnel entrance. The clutch size is usually five.

Vocalization

The bearded wood-partridge's song is "a series of loud, rollicking whistles, repeated rapidly and often given in duet". The sexes' songs are similar but the female's is quieter. The song is mostly given at dawn and dusk. Groups sing to maintain contact.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the bearded wood partridge as Vulnerable since 2000 after initially rating it Critically Endangered. " rveys have found this species to be more widespread and numerous than previously thought, however it still has a highly fragmented range and small population undergoing a continuous decline."

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1264029

bearded wood partridge The bearded wood partridge (''Dendrortyx barbatus'') is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It inhabits the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The bearded wood partridge shares the genus ''D ...

Endemic birds of Eastern Mexico

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of the Sierra Madre Oriental Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca