Eye quail
| Eye quail | ||||||||
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Eye quail ( Caloperdix oculeus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||
| Caloperdix | ||||||||
| Blyth , 1861 | ||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||
| Caloperdix oculeus | ||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1815) |
The eye-quail ( Caloperdix oculeus ) is a species from the pheasant family. It is the only recent representative of the genus Caloperdix and occurs in Southeast Asia. There are three subspecies for this species. The species is similar to the wood partridge , but it lacks, among other things, the featherless spot behind the eyes, which is characteristic of this genus, and they have strong spurs on their feet. The species is considered threatened as its habitat is increasingly being destroyed.
Appearance
The eye quail reaches a body length of 23 to 27 centimeters. It weighs about 230 grams. There is no sexual dimorphism . The head, neck, chest and the flanks are deep reddish brown, the throat and the sides of the head are somewhat paler. The middle of the abdomen is lightened, the sides of the chest and the coat are black, with the individual feathers lined with white. There are dark spots on the rear flanks and dark horizontal stripes on the under tail coverts. The wings are olive brown, and each individual feather has a teardrop-shaped to round spot.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the eye-quail extends from the extreme south of Myanmar to the south of the peninsula of Thailand and across the Malaysian peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo. The habitat of the eye-quail are evergreen and semi-evergreen rainforests, wetlands, dry hill forests and secondary forests with bamboo cover. It occurs from the lowlands to altitudes of 1,200 meters. In large parts of its range, it has disappeared in the lowlands. It is now an extremely rare chicken bird in Thailand. In the Malaysian lowlands, their range is highly fragmented. Secondary forests are now their most important habitat on Sumatra.
Way of life
The way of life of the eye quail has so far been largely unexplored. It has been seen singly or in pairs in the Malay Peninsula, according to confirmed observations. There are unconfirmed observations from small groups. The diet consists of berries, seeds, grasses and beetles. So far, only individual observations of the reproductive habits are available from the wild. Forest quails cared for in human care lay eight to ten eggs per clutch. The breeding season is 18 to 20 days.
supporting documents
literature
- Steve Madge , Phil McGowan, and Guy M. Kirwan : Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse. A Guide to the Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Grouse, Guineafowl, Buttonquails and Sandgrouse of the world. Christopher Helm, London 2002, ISBN 0-7136-3966-0 .
Single receipts
Web link
- Caloperdix oculeus onthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2014.