Starred wood quail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Starred wood quail |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Odontophorus (bird)
|
| Species: |
stellatus
|
 |
|
The starred wood quail (Odontophorus stellatus) is a type of bird found in the family called Odontophoridae. These birds are also known as New World quails. You can find them living in warm, wet lowland forests in countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
What They Look Like
The starred wood quail is about 24 to 28 centimeters (9 to 11 inches) long. Male quails are usually a little bigger than females. Their beaks are dark, their eyes are brown, and their legs are grey.
They have a special crest of long feathers on the back of their heads. This crest is reddish-brown on males and brownish-black on females. Other than this, males and females look very much alike.
The front part of their head is dark brown. The rest of their head, neck, throat, and shoulders are grey. Their main body color on top is olive-brown. It has darker wavy lines, which are called vermiculations. The color is lighter on their back end and darker on their wings. Their flight feathers have large black marks, and their wing covers have pale spots.
Their undersides are reddish-brown. They have white spots on the sides of their chest and dark stripes near their tail. Young quails look similar but have an orange or reddish beak.
Life and Habits
The starred wood quail is a shy bird that is hard to spot. You can often tell they are around by their special call. It sounds like korkorralo, korkorralo, korkorralo. They repeat this call many times as the sun goes down.
These birds live in small groups called coveys, usually with five to eight birds. When they cross open areas, they walk in a single line. They stay close to thick bushes or trees. This way, they can quickly hide if something scares them.
They search for food in the leaf litter on the forest floor. They eat small creatures without backbones, like insects, and also fruits. We don't know much about how they raise their young.
Where They Live
This bird lives in eastern Ecuador, most of Peru, western Brazil, and northern Bolivia. They usually live in wet lowland forests. This includes forests on dry land, areas that sometimes flood, and places where different types of forests meet. They live below about 1,050 meters (3,445 feet) in height. In Ecuador, they can be found even lower.
How They Are Doing
The starred wood quail lives in a very large area. It is quite common in some parts of its home range. Experts believe the total number of these birds is slowly going down. However, it's not decreasing fast enough to be considered in danger.
Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the starred wood quail as a species of "least concern." This means they are not currently at high risk of disappearing.
See also
In Spanish: Corcovado estrellado para niños
