Status and recent sightings of ocellated quail

Abstract

Ocellated quail is a poorly known and little studied species, rarely observed in the wild. It occurs from south western Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and north central Nicaragua. Montezuma and ocellated quail are biogeographically separated by the tropical lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in south western Mexico and are believed to be allopatric replacement forms. Collections for museums and observations in the wild have been sparse over the last 50 years. This paper reports recent observations and their proximity to protected areas.

Full text

© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
Status and recent sightings of ocellated quail
J
ACK
C
LINTON
E
ITNIEAR1*
and
K
NUT
E
ISERMANN2
1
Center for the Study of Tropical Birds, Inc., San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
2
PROEVAL RAXMU Bird Monitoring Program, Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
*
Correspondence author - jce@cstbinc.org
Paper presented at the 2
nd
Workshop on Neotropical Quail: status, conservation and research, 2006,
Veracruz, Mexico.
Abstract
Ocellated quail is a poorly known and little studied species, rarely observed in the wild. It
occurs from south western Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and north central
Nicaragua. Montezuma and ocellated quail are biogeographically separated by the tropical lowlands of
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in south western Mexico and are believed to be allopatric replacement
forms. Collections for museums and observations in the wild have been sparse over the last 50 years.
This paper reports recent observations and their proximity to protected areas.
Keywords
Cyrtonyx, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Near-threatened, ocellated quail.
Introduction
Johnsgard (1973) reports that ocellated quail
Cyrtonyx ocellatus can be distinguished from its
closest relative, the Montezuma quail C.
montezumae of southern Mexico, by reduced
white lateral spotting to their anterior portions
and dark chestnut posterior flank spots in
Montezuma quail. On male ocellated quails their
midbreast and upper abdominal areas are much
lighter, generally buffy or slightly tawny colour
and instead of gray flanks with chestnut
spotting they have chestnut flanks with black
and gray cross-markings (F
IG
. 1). While
separation of the male ocellatus and
montezumae is fairly easy (by lack of the
chestnut coloured flanks in ocellatus), females
are very similar (F
IG
.
2) with the only difference
being that ocellatus is, on average, only slightly
less buffy dorsally (Johnsgard, 1988).
Binford (1989) states that in Mexico the species
occurs from 1,000 - 3,000 m in upland oak-
shrub vegetation. Similarly, in Central America,
the species’ preferred habitat is considered to
be open pine woodlands and adjacent grassy
slopes and fields from 1,500 - 3,000 m in the
central highlands (Howell & Webb, 1995).
Considered as an “indicator species” of the
pine-oak zone with its dense herbaceous
understory, it feeds on acorns, bulb-bearing
forbs and seeds of grasses and sedges.
This flora is able to survive selective logging
and infrequent fire, but is less tolerant of
grazing. Considered Low Risk by the IUCN in
1988 the species was up-listed to Near-
threatened in 2004. Due to insufficient data
(Data Deficient) a recent evaluation resulted in
retaining the current threat category (Birdlife
International, 2008). This paper reports on
recent sightings of the species in relation to
protected areas within its range and suggests
that its threat category should be upgraded to
Vulnerable.
F
IG
. 1 Male ocellated quail, front, back,
side views (Photos: Tom Schulenberg - FMNH-
Chicago).

86 J. C. Eitniear and K. Eisermann
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
F
IG
. 2 Female ocellated quail (2 right
specimens) and Montezuma quail females (2
left specimens) (Photo: John P. O’Neill - LSU).
Methods
Cyrtonyx quail are seldom recorded during
avifaunal surveys due to their lack of "flushing"
behaviour. In addition to a literature review, we
derived information on species status and
distribution from a variety of sources including
data from museum specimens (ORNIS 2007),
documented sightings from birdwatchers and
birding tours, ornithologists in the region (often
studying other species within the same floral
community) and individuals working on regional
atlases.
Results
Mexico
While the principle range of Montezuma quail is
within Mexico, only a small portion of the range
of ocellated quail is within the Republic.
Occurring from south eastern Oaxaca into
Chiapas (F
IG
. 3) only a few sightings have been
recorded within the past few decades.
Historically (the majority in the 1960’s), a
number of specimens (T
ABLE
1) have been
collected in Oaxaca, near the more coastal
areas of Cerro Baul and Tapanatepec at
elevations of 1000 - 2000 m in regions
composed of tropical evergreen and cloud forest
as well as humid pine-oak (Binford, 1989).
While areas of human habitation are some
distance away, the rural areas are populated by
Mixteca Indians. The pine-oak canyons are
inhospitable, so likely continue to provide some
sanctuary for the quail, but verification that the
species is extant in this area, at the periphery
of the species range, is required.
F
IG
.
3 Ocellated quail sites in Mexico. 1) Cerro
Baul and Tapanatepec, Oaxaca; 2) Recent
sightings near Ocosingo, Chiapas; 3) Parque
Nacional Lagos de Montebello & 4) Montes
Azules Biosphere Reserve.
In Chiapas, Howell (1999) observed the quail
near Chanal. However, members of the NGO
PRONATURA:Chiapas studying the golden-
cheeked warblers Dendroica chrysoparia have
yet to confirm the species presence within the
pine-oak forest of the region (Claudia Macias
Caballero in litt.).
Communication with birding tour companies
that visit the forest along the highway near
Ocosingo en route to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, has
resulted in only two sightings in over twenty
roadside searches. The first in April 2005 was
between Ocosingo and Comitán (Mark
Stackhouse, [Westwings, Inc.] per. comm.) and
the second in March 2003 near Parque Nacional
Lagunas de Montebello (Rick Taylor [Borderland
Tours] per. comm.). It is reported (Birdlife
International, 2008) that ocellatus is likely
occur in the Reserva de Biosfera Montes Azules
as there is suitable pine-oak forest located in
the north eastern section of the reserve at
altitudes greater than 850 m. Additionally,
pine-oak forest suitable for the species can be
found in the 6,022 ha Parque Nacional Lagunas
de Montebello (Arizmendi & Márquez-
Valdelamar, 2000). However, it is doubtful that
Mexico supports a viable population of ocellated
quail. Human encroachment into the highlands
and the limited amount of suitable habitat

Ocellated quail 87
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
(Gordillo-Martinez, 2000) are likely to result in
the species being considered “en peligro de
extinción" (Endangered)” by the Government of
Mexico.
T
ABLE
1. Ocellated quail specimens in museums
(ORNIS, 2008). Identification number and
collection locality are given. FMNH=Field
Museum of Natural History; UCLA=University of
California:Los Angeles; MCZ=Museum of
Comparative Zoology:Harvard; UMM=University
of Michigan Museum; KUNHM=Kansas
University Natural History Museum; CU=Cornell
University Museum Vertebrates; LSU=Lousiana
State University; WFVZ=Western Foundation
for Vertebrate Zoology
Mexico
WFVZ16952 Oaxaca
WFVZ16953 Oaxaca
WFVZ16951 Oaxaca
WFVZ12511 Oaxaca
WFVZ10921 Oaxaca
WFVZ8840 Chiapas
WFVZ10923 Oaxaca
WFVZ8841 Chiapas
WFVZ10924 Oaxaca
WFVZ10922 Oaxaca
FMNH208639 Chiapas
FMNH208638 Chiapas
LSUMZ39410 Chiapas
LSUMZ43420 Chiapas
KUNHM103299 Chiapas
UMMZ110112 Chiapas
MCZ135452 Oaxaca
Guatemala
CU34085 Guatemala
FMNH23332 Chimaltenango
FMNH188191 Zacapa
MCZ145693 Antigua
MCZ193722 Zacapa
MCZ193522 Zacapa
MCZ193523 Zacapa
KUNHM37191 Solola
UMMZ155238 Zacapa
Honduras
FMNH411464 Tegucigalpa
FMNH411465 Tegucigalpa
FMNH411466 Tegucigalpa
FMNH411467 Tegucigalpa
FMNH411468 Tegucigalpa
FMNH411469 Tegucigalpa
FMNH411975 Santa Barbara
FMNH412670 Tegucigalpa
FMNH412671 Santa Barbara
FMNH412672 Tegucigalpa
FMNH412673 Tegucigalpa
FMNH413620 Tegucigalpa
FMNH414355 Yoro
MCZ158061 El Durrumbo
MCZ161001 Hatillo
MCZ161032 Cerro Cantoral
MCZ161033 Hatillo
MCZ162755 Vasquez Mts
MCZ162754 Monte Redondo
MCZ280195 Morazan
UMMZ150015 Comayagua
UMMZ150016 Comayagua
El Salvador
UCLA18275 Chalatenango
UCLA18318 Chalatenango
UCLA18373 Chalatenango
UCLA18383 Chalatenango
FMNH111222 Chalatenango
Guatemala
According to the most recent vegetation
mapping (Ministerio de Agricultura Gandería y
Alimentación, 2006), 2,438 km
2
at elevations of
over 900 m support conifer forest, and 6,282
km
2
mixed forest, a total of 8720 km
2
of
potential quail habitat in Guatemala. The
largest fragments of habitat are available in the
departments of Huehuetenango, Quiché, Baja
Verapaz, San Marcos, Totonicapán, Sololá, and
Chimaltenango (F
IG
.
4,
T
ABLE
2).
F
IG
. 4 Areas of suitable habitat in Guatemala.
Light green = quail habitat within protected
areas, dark green = unprotected quail habitat,
grey shade = protected areas (according to
CONAP, 2007). Numbers codify department
names (see T
ABLE
2).
Of the 8,720 km
2
of potential habitat, only
about 10% (900 km
2
) is legally protected. The
protected areas covering more than 1% of the
potential habitat of ocellated quail in Guatemala
are, Área de Uso Múltiple Cuenca del Lago
Atitlán (3.2%), Reserva de Biosfera Sierra de
las Minas (2.0%), Reserva de Biosfera Visís
Cabá (1.5%), and Parque Regional Altos de San
Miguel Totonicapán (1.1%).

88 J. C. Eitniear and K. Eisermann
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
In addition to low coverage by protected areas,
many of Guatemala's reserves lack appropriate
management, park rangers or other on-site
presence of state authorities. Applying IUCN
Red List criteria (IUCN, 2001; 2003), Eisermann
& Avendaño (2006) evaluated ocellated quail as
Vulnerable at the national level in Guatemala
(VU A3cd: Population reduction of at least 30%
within the next 10 years, because of general
deforestation rates in Guatemala and hunting
pressure).
T
ABLE
2 Amount and distribution of conifer and
mixed forest (over 900 m elevation) in
Guatemala. (Numbers in parenthesis are used
in F
IG
. 4 & 5).
Department Area (km
2
)
Quiché (2) 1934.7
Huehuetenango (1) 1800.2
Baja Verapaz (13) 765.8
San Marcos (4) 712.5
Totonicapán (6) 550.4
Chimaltenango (8) 497.7
Chiquimula (17) 365.1
Quetzaltenango (5) 364.3
Alta Verapaz (3) 340.0
Jalapa (15) 315.8
Guatemala (11) 245.6
Sololá (7) 233.7
Zacapa (18) 230.0
Jutiapa (16) 125.7
Santa Rosa (12) 99.1
El Progreso (14) 94.6
Sacatepéquez (9) 41.6
Izabal (19) 2.4
Escuintla (10) 0.5
The annual deforestation rate in Guatemala was
1.7% of remaining forests from 1990 to 2000
(FAO 2003), which is an annual loss of 485 km
2
of forest. Consequently, in 10 years 17% (4845
km
2
) of forest habitat were lost. Furthermore,
these numbers do not discriminate between
natural forest and plantation, thus the loss of
primary forest was even higher. Also, pressure
on natural areas will increase considerably in
the next decades, because Guatemala's human
population is growing rapidly; it is estimated to
double from 2010 to 2050 for a total population
of 27 million (CEPAL, 2007). Eisermann &
Avendaño (2006) concluded that most of the
people live in the highlands between 1000 and
2000 m, based on the most recent population
census (INE, 2002). Of the 11.2 million people,
8 million lived in the departments in the
highlands. It must be expected that the rate of
annual loss of forest habitat will not decrease
within the next 10 years. In addition to the
growing human population, habitat is
threatened by mining. Of the available habitat
for ocellated quail, 2380 km
2
(27% of the total
habitat) are located within areas used or
planned for exploration and opencast mining,
including extensive habitat in the departments
San Marcos, Totonicapán, Huehuetenango,
Quiché, and Chimaltenango (F
IG
.
5).
F
IG
. 5 Proposed sites for mining in Guatemala
(according to Ministerio de Energía y Minas,
2008). Conifer and mixed forest (over 900 m
elevation) within these potential mining areas
are marked in red. Names of departments are
indicated in T
ABLE
2, according to the numbers.
The ocellated quail has been recorded recently
in four Important Bird Areas (Eisermann &
Avendaño, 2007 and more recent data) in IBA
Sacranix (GT007), IBA Yalijux (GT010), IBA
Tacaná-Tajumulco (GT013), and IBA Atitlán
(GT015). The species is not known to be
common anywhere in Guatemala, but suitable
habitat has certainly been under-surveyed (F
IG
.
6). A total of 3370 km
2
of conifer and mixed
forest (39% of potential quail habitat in
Guatemala) are included in the Guatemalan IBA
network. Conservation of the IBAs in
Guatemala is challenging because of the
increasing pressure on natural habitat.
Guatemala has one of the highest illiteracy
rates in Latin America. To increase the
education level has been identified as main goal
for conservation, because this would help to
slow down population growth, and thus
diminish pressure on natural areas (Eisermann
& Avendaño, 2009).
El Salvador
Museum collections contain five specimens
collected in El Salvador near Chalatenango in

Ocellated quail 89
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
1927 (T
ABLE
1). More recently, five areas
surveyed for golden-cheeked warblers
Dendroica chrysoparia all in suitable habitat,
were found not to contain ocellated quail (O.
Komar, per. comm.).
Using available information it was not possible
to verify the species presence in the country
during the last half a century. The amount of
habitat is minimal (F
IG
.
7) and it is likely that
landscape alteration, due to increased numbers
of people in the highland region, as well as a
prolonged civil war, mean the species is present
in very low numbers, if at all.
F
IG
.
6 Records of ocellated quail in Guatemala,
based on Dearborn (1907), Salvin & Godman
(1897-1904), Griscom (1932), Land (1962),
Eisermann & Avendaño (2007), R. Cahill in
Jones & Komar (2007), K. Eisermann in Jones &
Komar (2008a,b), K. Eisermann & C. Avendaño
in Jones & Komar (2008c), R. Fernández in
Jones & Komar (2009), T. Cahill, per. comm.
Protected areas with quail records: 1-Zona de
Veda Definitiva Volcán Tacaná, 2-Parque
Regional Altos de San Miguel Totonicapán, 3-
Área de Uso Múltiple Cuenca del Lago Atitlán,
4-Reserva de Biosfera Sierra de las Minas, 5-
Reserva Chelemhá.
F
IG
. 7 Areas of pine-oak forest in Guatemala.
Honduras
Monroe (1968) states the species is an
“uncommon to fairly common” resident in
highland pine areas. Despite significant
representation in museums (T
ABLE
1), recent
sightings in the field are sparse. There have
been multiple sightings at Toro Muerto near
Botaderos during a bird inventory in 2002
(Bonta & Anderson, 2002). The species has also
been observed recently in north eastern
Olancho, in the municipalities of Gualaco and
San Esteban. There, small groups of 4 - 6
individuals, have been observed throughout the
day in mature pine-oak forest with open, grassy
understory at 600 - 1000 m. The most recent
observation in this area was in September 2005
(Mark Bonta, in litt.). The most recent
sightings of the quail have been made by
Robert Gallardo along the entrance road to La
Muralla National Park (W86'42" N15'11"). On 22
April 2009 a roadkilled male was discovered
and photographed (see photographs at end).
Returning to the area on 09 July 2009 a hen
with several chicks were discovered. One chick
was dead on the road and the others fled,
however, several photographs were taken (see
photographs at end). We believe these are the
first images ever secured of young ocellated
quail. These observations give us hope that the
species maintains a viable population in La
Muralla National Park and perhaps others that
have pine/oak habitats within their core or
buffer zones.
Nicaragua
The ocellated quail’s range includes Nicaragua
based on a specimen collected by W.B.
Richardson (Salvin & Godman, 1897-1904) in
Jalapa around the turn of the last century.
The only recent observation was by Francisco
Munos in a personal communication to Birdlife
International (S. Butchart per. comm.). Munos
mentioned observing more than 30 individuals

90 J. C. Eitniear and K. Eisermann
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
in the Important Bird Area (IBA) in the Dipilto-
Jalapa Mountain Range. However, according to
Nicaraguan bird specialist Juan Carlos Martinez-
Sánchez, Dipilto-Jalapa is a mountain range
that runs parallel to the Nicaraguan-Honduras
border that has the highest elevations in
Nicaragua (up to 2106 m), where cloud
forest and highland pine forest overlap. Little
forest remains, according to Mártinez-Sanchez,
most of it has been either exploited,
transformed in coffee plantations, even corn
fields. Some forest remains in areas mined
during the Contra war, or covering steep slopes
and poor soils (Juan Carlos Martinez-Sanchez,
per. comm.).
Discussion
The species’ status is clearly of concern in
Mexico, El Salvador and Nicaragua where
suitable habitat is extremely limited. All
chicken-like birds are hunted in Guatemala, and
the human population is concentrated in the
highlands (human population increased 35%
from 1994 to 2002). Historically, Honduras
probably contained the largest concentration of
ocellated quail, based on amount of suitable
pine forest habitat. Unfortunately, half of the
pine forests in the Department of Olancho have
been logged or converted to agriculture. Since
the capitol city of Tegucigalpa is in the
highlands of south central Honduras high levels
of poverty has resulted in high levels of
unregulated subsistence hunting of “carne del
monte”. Despite historic collecting of the
species in this area it currently no longer
inhabits the region. Logging of old growth
forest, in itself, does not likely impact quail
numbers as long as the understory vegetation
remains. However, the typical scenario is that
logged areas are burned and often ultimately
converted to grazing which destroys the
diversity of the understory. Additionally, logging
roads provide means for rural people to reach
and penetrate more distant forested areas for
hunting.
While the usefulness of such coarse scale
assessment is debatable (Hurlbert & Jetz, 2007)
it does highlight several areas of concern. One
such area, the mountains of Oaxaca near Cerro
Baul, is the location of earlier collecting, but no
recent evidence has been published verifying
that the species is extant since the collecting
occurred in the 1960s (F
IG
.
3). A second critical
area encompasses the pine forest at the
Guatemala-Honduran border. With few
sightings and significant landscape alteration,
extirpation of the species in this region would
fragment the population preventing geneflow
from the northern Mexican-Guatemalan
population and the Olancho forest group in
Honduras. Surveys in this areas using dogs,
which are more effective at locating Cyrtonyx
quail, should be conducted and given recent
studies (Heaton et al., 2008) would not likely
impact the survival of the individuals
discovered. Finally, considering the lack of
observations in Oaxaca (and most of Honduras)
coupled with increased human population in the
highlands, plus recent and predicted landscape
changes (especially logging and mining), we
agree with the assessment of Carroll et al.
(1995; using the Mace-Lande criterion) that the
species should be elevated to Vulnerable
status. Based on the available data on quail
distribution, human population increase, land
use by mining, hunting, and deforestation rate,
we assume that the population of the quail is
likely to decrease more than 30% within the
next 10 years, which would correspond to the
IUCN Red List criteria VU A3cd.
Acknowledgment
We wish to thank the numerous individuals that
have contributed, and continue to contribute, to
our knowledge and conservation of the
ocellated quail: David Anderson, Mark Bonta,
Stuart Butchart, Claudia Macias Caballero, Juan
Cornejo, Oliver Komar, Juan Carlos Martínez
Sánchez and Pilar Thorn. We appreciate the
photographs of museum specimens provided by
Tom Schulenberg and John P. O'Neill.
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92 J. C. Eitniear and K. Eisermann
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
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Biographical sketches
J
ACK
C
LINTON
E
ITNIEAR
has studied neotropical
quail for the last decade. In addition to field
studies he has assisted with the organization of
two international meetings and manages a
yahoo group devoted to neotropical quail. He
has a M.S. degree from Texas State University,
writing a thesis on the tropical finch Sporophila
torqueola. He has published over 100 scientific
papers and serves on the editorial board for
several ornithological journals. He has an
interest in many species of tropical birds, but
his emphasis, in terms of quail, has been on
bearded wood-partridge, singing quail,
ocellated quail, black-throated bobwhite and
elegant quail. K
NUT
E
ISERMANN
has been
studying the distribution and conservation
status of birds in Guatemala since 1997. He is
senior author of the Annotated Checklist of the
Birds of Guatemala, has contributed to the
2008 update of the BirdLife species fact sheet
of threatened birds and has coordinated the
identification of IBAs in Guatemala, an initiative
of BirdLife International and the Ornithological
Society of Guatemala. He is director of the
PROEVAL RAXMU Bird Monitoring Program in
Guatemala.

Ocellated quail 93
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
T
OP
: Ocellated quail hit by a car in northern Olancho (c19 km north of La Unión, Olancho, close to La
Muralla N.P.). B
OTTOM
: Habitat being utilised by the quail in northern Olancho. (Photos: Roberto
Gallardo)

94 J. C. Eitniear and K. Eisermann
© 2009 World Pheasant Association.
International Journal of Galliformes Conservation, 1, 86–94
First known photograph of a young ocellated quail, photographed near La Muralla NP (Honduras)
(Photo: Kevin Easley [9 July 2009]).