Cyrtonyx montezumae
| Montezuma quail | |
|---|---|
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| adult male | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Odontophoridae |
| Genus: | Cyrtonyx |
| Species: | C. montezumae |
| Binomial name | |
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Cyrtonyx montezumae (Vigors, 1830) |
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The Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's quail, the harlequin quail (for the male's striking pattern), and the fool quail (for its behavior).
At about 22 cm (8.75 in), it is one of the shortest quails of North America, although it weighs 180 g (6 oz), the same as some Callipepla quails that are several centimetres longer. It has an even plumper build and shorter tail than other quails.
Both sexes have the back and wing coverts tan with longitudinal light-buff streaks formed by the feather shafts and circular or transversely oblong black spots arranged in bars. A crest on the nape makes the profile distinctively long front-to-back. The bill is black above and bluish-gray below. The adult males have a striking, swirling black-and-white face pattern. A single tan plume lies flat over the crest. Their sides are blue-gray (often looking black) with bold spots, which in northern birds are white and in southern birds are white towards the front and chestnut towards the back. The middle of the chest and belly is dark brown in northern birds, lighter and tawnier in southern birds. Females have a suggestion of the male's face pattern. Their underparts are light brown with a few fine black shaft streaks and other lines. Juveniles resemble females, but the underparts are grayish with white shaft streaks and black dots. Immature males develop the adult side pattern early but do not develop the face pattern till early winter.
An unusual feature of this species is the long, sickle-shaped claws, which it uses for digging.
The assembly or territorial call is "six to nine notes descending in pitch", "a far-carrying, descending, quavering whinny". The male's "song" for pairing is "an eerie, melancholy, vibrant, descending whistle vwirrrrr" or "an insect-like buzzing that starts at a high pitch and descends". It is given from the ground, whereas other quails sing on such perches as the tops of fenceposts or bushes. There are other calls as well.
The southern populations are sometimes considered a separate species, Cyrtonyx sallei. On the other hand, the Montezuma quail is sometimes considered conspecific with the very similar ocellated quail, Cyrtonyx ocellatus, which replaces it from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to northern Nicaragua.
There are five recognized subspecies:
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Wikipedia