New World quail | Odontophoridae

Tandkwartels | Codornices americanas

The lower edge of the bill is finely serrated, which lets hard seeds and seed husks be cut through; in many species a forward-curving plume also bobs on the head in time with the bird's running. Escape is preferably on foot: only when almost trodden on do the birds burst up in every direction with a loud whirr of wings, after which a swelling assembly call whistles the group back together. In spring an unpaired male whistles the same clear two-part phrase from a fence post or low branch day after day. The nest is a grass-lined hollow beneath a tussock or shrub, usually with a roof of bent-over stems and an entrance at the side, so that it is invisible from above. In some species the male takes charge of a first clutch while the female starts a second. The chicks eat mainly insects for the first weeks. In dry country the birds are tied to drinking places, appearing there in the morning and towards evening.