Ocellated Quail

About the Ocellated Quail

The ocellated quail (Cyrtonyx ocellatus) is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The ocellated quail shares genus Cyrtonyx with the Montezuma quail (C. montezumae) and Salle’s quail (C. sallei). It is monotypic.

The ocellated quail is 20.5 to 23 cm (8.1 to 9.1 in) long. Males weigh an estimated 218 g (7.7 oz) and females an estimated 182 g (6.4 oz). The adult male's face has a black and white harlequin pattern. Its crown and nape are buffy brown to olive brown with a thick tawny crest on the rear of the crown. The throat is white with black stripes. Its upperparts are gray and brown with cinnamon stripes and black spots. The central breast is tawny cinnamon and its edges gray with cinnamon spots. The belly is a deeper cinnamon, the flanks gray with cinnamon scallops, and the vent area black. The female's face is buffy and black, the crest tawny, and the upperparts brown with buff lines. The breast and belly are wine red with black bars and spots.

The ocellated quail is or was found in far southern Mexico... Wikipedia →