Singing Quail

The singing quail is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long. Males weigh 180 to 266 g (6.3 to 9.4 oz) and females 115 to 206 g (4.1 to 7.3 oz). The smallest birds are found near sea level and the largest in the mountains. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown crown, a buff and black "collar", and a tawny orange face with a black streak behind the eye. The back and wings are mottled gray and brown with thin white streaks; the rump is olive brown or gray and has black vermiculation. The breast and belly are grayish brown with white streaks and the lower belly is white. The female has a gray face and white throat and the breast and flanks are paler brown. Juveniles are similar to females but with blackish spots on the underparts. There is much variation among the other subspecies but in general those in mountain forests are darker than those in dryer lowlands.

The singing quail is found in several separate areas in northern, western, and southern Mexico; the Yucatán Peninsula; northern Belize; much of Guatemala, and spottily in El Salvador and Honduras. In general it inhabits the floor of forests with sparse undergrowth; it is also found in older secondary forest, at the edges of old-growth forest, in clear cuts, and coffee plantations. Forest types include subtropical montane forest and cloudforest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to at least 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

The singing quail often forages in coveys of three to five birds but groups of up to 12 have been observed. It scratches for food in leaf litter and soil, feeding on bulbs, seeds, and insects.