The white-faced quail-dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
Region
Mesoamerica
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Mexico (primarily Chiapas) through the highlands of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Nicaragua. It inhabits humid evergreen and cloud forests, as well as mature pine–oak and montane broadleaf forest with dense understory. The species favors ravines, forested slopes, and areas with thick leaf litter for foraging. It is generally absent from heavily disturbed or fragmented lowland habitats.
Altitude Range
800–2500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A shy, ground-dwelling dove of humid montane forests, it is more often heard than seen, giving low, mournful hoots from dense cover. When disturbed, it explodes into swift, low flight through the understory. It depends on intact cloud forest and pine–oak habitats, making it sensitive to deforestation and fragmentation.
Juvenile
At nest
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low swift dashes through understory
Social Behavior
Typically encountered alone or in pairs, walking quietly on the forest floor. Nests are flimsy platforms placed low in vegetation or on ledges, usually with 1–2 white eggs. Breeding activity coincides with the wet season in much of its range.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a series of soft, low hoots, often a single mournful note repeated at intervals. Songs and calls are ventriloquial and carry through dense forest, most often at dawn and dusk.
Plumage
Warm brown-olive upperparts with subtle iridescence on the neck, grayish crown, and buffy to gray underparts. The face is distinctly pale to white with a bold dark malar line, and the throat is whitish. Feathers often show a purplish or green gloss on the sides of the neck in good light.
Diet
Forages on fallen seeds and small fruits, complemented by invertebrates such as insects and small snails. It picks food from the leaf litter, often gleaning quietly under dense cover. Opportunistically takes tender shoots and other plant matter.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on the shaded forest floor, along trails, and in ravines with deep leaf litter. Often remains near dense understory and thickets where it can quickly retreat if disturbed.
