Cyrtonyx montezumae

(Vigors, 1830)

Vernacular names
English : Montezuma quail
French : Colin arlequin

Classification
Class : Aves
Order : Galliformes
Family : Odontophoridae
Notes : 3 subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can reach 22 cm for a weight of 230 g. Round body with large head. Male is brown with striping and mottling on wings, head is black and white. Breast and flanks black with dense white spotting, belly red-brown. Female duller.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in north and central America, from South USA (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas) to north and central Mexico. Lives in open woodlands and wooded grasslands, from 500 to 3000 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species is apparently common to abundant within its range but local declines and extinctions have been documented because of habitat loss.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation
Dallas World Aquarium (USA), Private collections

 

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