New World quail | Odontophoridae

Tandkwartels | Codornices americanas | New World quail

Small, round-bodied gamebirds whose lower mandible has a serrated cutting edge, which gives the family its name. The leg carries no spur and is short and sturdy, suited to scratching and digging in the soil for seeds, tubers, berries and insects. Some species have a crest, and in many the head is boldly marked with rufous, black or white patches. The family is found only in the Americas; this guide includes eleven species in three genera. The Crested Bobwhite lives in open grassland and dry scrub in the north, the Tawny-faced Quail in lowland forest of the Chocó, and the rest are wood-quails of the genus Odontophorus, from Amazonian lowlands to cloud forest on the Andean slopes, including a few species with small ranges in Colombia. Wood-quails are rarely seen and are mostly heard at dawn and dusk, often in duet or in a chorus of the whole group. They nest on the ground, often under a canopy of grass or leaves, and live in fixed coveys that keep together with clear, far-carrying calls. When threatened they first crouch flat or run off and flush explosively only at the last moment.