Buffy-crowned wood partridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Buffy-crowned wood partridge |
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Dendrortyx
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| Species: |
leucophrys
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The buffy-crowned wood partridge (scientific name: Dendrortyx leucophrys) is a cool bird that belongs to the New World quail family. These birds live in forests across several countries in Central America, including Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.
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About the Buffy-Crowned Wood Partridge
How Scientists Name Birds
Scientists give every living thing a special name, like Dendrortyx leucophrys for this bird. This helps everyone around the world know exactly which animal they are talking about. The very first buffy-crowned wood partridge that scientists studied was found in Guatemala in 1843. It was named by a scientist called John Gould in 1844. This special bird is now kept in the World Museum in Liverpool, England.
The buffy-crowned wood partridge is related to two other types of birds in the Dendrortyx group. There are also two slightly different kinds, or "subspecies," of the buffy-crowned wood partridge.
What Does This Bird Look Like?
The buffy-crowned wood partridge is about 28 to 35.5 centimeters (11 to 14 inches) long. That's about the length of a school ruler! Male birds usually weigh around 397 grams (14 ounces), while females are a bit lighter at about 340 grams (12 ounces).
This bird has a white forehead, eyebrows, chin, and throat. It also has a patch of red skin around its eyes. Its crown (the top of its head) and the back of its neck are a warm chestnut color. Its back, wings, and tail are a mix of chestnut and gray. The belly is blue-gray with chestnut stripes. One of the subspecies is a bit larger, darker, and grayer, with very thin, dark stripes on its chest.
Where Do These Birds Live?
You can find the buffy-crowned wood partridge in three different areas. One group lives from southern Mexico down into western Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, northwestern Nicaragua, and far eastern Guatemala. Another group lives in central Costa Rica.
These birds like to live in humid (damp) to semi-humid mountain forests. They can be found in different types of forests, like those with oak and pine trees, evergreen forests, and cloudforests (where clouds often cover the trees). They can also live in forests that have been partly cut down, or even in coffee farms!
How Buffy-Crowned Wood Partridges Behave
What Do They Eat?
The buffy-crowned wood partridge looks for food by scratching through fallen leaves on the ground. They eat seeds, buds, small fruits, and tiny insects. These birds usually move around in small family groups of four to six. When it's not breeding season, you might see them in bigger groups of up to 12 birds.
How Do They Raise Their Young?
The nesting season for these partridges seems to be from February to June. They usually build their nests on the ground. Sometimes they make a dome-shaped nest, or they might hollow out a space in thick grass. A female bird usually lays six to seven eggs at a time.
What Do They Sound Like?
The main call of the buffy-crowned wood partridge is a fast series of loud, rough whistles. It sounds like "kee-orr-KWA" or "whew, Whit-cha, cha-waWHAT-cha." They often make a few soft notes before their main call. They call the most at sunrise and into the morning, and again at sunset.
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has looked at the buffy-crowned wood partridge and decided it is a species of "Least Concern." This means that, for now, there are enough of these birds in the wild, and they are not in immediate danger of disappearing. However, cutting down forests can be a problem in some areas where they live. Luckily, these birds seem to be able to get used to some changes in their habitat.
