White-faced quail-dove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-faced quail-dove |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Zentrygon |
| Species: |
Z. albifacies
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| Binomial name | |
| Zentrygon albifacies (Sclater, PL, 1858)
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| Synonyms | |
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The white-faced quail-dove (Zentrygon albifacies) is a special kind of bird. It belongs to the Columbidae family, which includes doves and pigeons. You can find this beautiful bird living in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
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About Its Name
The white-faced quail-dove is a unique species, meaning it doesn't have different subspecies. Scientists first described it in 1858. Over time, its scientific name changed a few times. It was first called Geotrygon albifacies, then Oreopeleia albifacies, and now it's known as Zentrygon albifacies.
What It Looks Like
This dove is about 28 to 31.5 cm (11.0 to 12.4 in) long. That's about the length of a ruler! It can weigh between 158 to 339 g (5.6 to 12.0 oz).
Adult white-faced quail-doves have gray feathers on their heads, which are lighter in the front and darker towards the back of their neck. The sides of their neck are a warm cinnamon color. Their upper body is a rich chestnut brown, with a pretty bluish-violet shine on their back. Their wings are a dark grayish-brown.
Their face is a pale, creamy color, and their chin and throat are even lighter. Their chest is a grayish-buff, which gets lighter and more cinnamon-colored towards their belly. They have bright orange to red eyes, surrounded by bare, blue-gray skin. Their legs and feet are red.
Young doves look a bit different. Their heads are pale brown, and their upper bodies are brown with darker stripes. Their chest and sides are a yellowish-brown with dusky stripes.
Where It Lives
The white-faced quail-dove lives in different parts of southern Mexico, much of Guatemala and Honduras, and small areas of northern El Salvador and northwestern Nicaragua.
It likes to live in humid montane forests. These are forests found in mountains. It lives in different types of these forests, including those with evergreen trees and pine trees. It also likes shade coffee plantations, which are farms where coffee grows under the shade of taller trees. These birds usually live at elevations between 1,000 and 2,700 m (3,300 and 8,900 ft) high in the mountains.
How It Behaves
What It Eats
The white-faced quail-dove usually looks for food alone or in pairs. It walks on the ground, often in places with lots of thick plants and trees for cover. While scientists haven't fully studied its diet, they believe it eats seeds, fruits that have fallen from trees, and possibly small insects.
Where It Rests
This dove rests, or roosts, above the ground. Instead of flying directly to its resting spot, it often walks along branches or hops up to where it wants to sleep. Sometimes, up to eight of these birds have been seen resting together in the same spot.
Reproduction
The breeding season for the white-faced quail-dove seems to be different depending on where they live. However, scientists haven't studied this much yet.
Their nests are built loosely from sticks and are usually hidden very well. They can be found as high as 6 m (20 ft) above the ground. Female doves typically lay two eggs at a time.
What It Sounds Like
The song of the white-faced quail-dove is described as a "low, hollow, mournful whoooo or whoo'oo." It's a soft, sad-sounding call.
Its Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has evaluated the white-faced quail-dove. They consider it a species of "Least Concern." This means it's not currently in immediate danger of disappearing.
However, even though it lives in a large area, its population is thought to be decreasing. In Mexico, authorities consider this bird to be a threatened species.
 | Charles R. Drew |
 | Benjamin Banneker |
 | Jane C. Wright |
 | Roger Arliner Young |
