The Venezuelan wood quail is a bird species in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in the Venezuelan Coastal Range.
Region
Northern Venezuela
Typical Environment
Occurs in the Venezuelan Coastal Range, where it occupies humid evergreen and cloud forests with dense understory. Prefers mature or well-regenerated secondary forest and thickets along slopes and ravines. It keeps to the forest floor and avoids open habitats. Often persists in protected areas but is sensitive to fragmentation and disturbance.
Altitude Range
200–1800 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A shy, ground-dwelling quail that inhabits the humid forests of Venezuela’s Coastal Range, it is most often detected by its loud, whistled duets at dawn. It forages in small coveys, scratching through leaf litter for seeds, fallen fruits, and invertebrates. Habitat loss and hunting pressure have reduced many local populations, making protected forests important strongholds.
Temperament
secretive and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with explosive flush
Social Behavior
Usually found in small coveys that move quietly through dense understory. Nests on the ground in concealed sites lined with leaves. Likely monogamous, with pairs maintaining contact through vocal duets. Coveys often follow regular foraging routes along ridges and stream gullies.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud, clear series of whistled notes often given as coordinated duets between pair members. Calls carry far at dawn and dusk and are the best way to detect the species in dense forest.
Plumage
Overall rich brown to dark brown with fine barring and mottling, denser on the underparts; plumage appears soft and cryptic for camouflage on the forest floor.
Diet
Eats seeds, fallen fruits, tender shoots, and a variety of invertebrates such as insects and small arthropods. Forages by scratching and flicking leaf litter with the feet and bill. Opportunistically takes seasonally abundant fruits along forest trails.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on the shaded forest floor in dense understory, bamboo patches, and along stream banks. Frequently uses quiet trails and edges within continuous forest cover.
