The singing quail (Dactylortyx thoracicus) is found from northern Mexico south through Mexico to El Salvador and Honduras. This quail is found primarily in forest regions. This small 8.5 inch quail is a small robust bird with a very short tail. The legs are pale gray. The color is mostly brown, but the female has a pale face while the male has a pale brown face. Both sexes have a narrow dark brown cape.

This quail has 11 subspecies per Howard and Moore in 2003. The subspecies pettingilli is found on the eastern slope in eastern Mexico. The subspecies thoracicus is found in south eastern Mexico. The subspecies sharpei is found north and west of the Yucatan area. The subspecies paynteri is found in the Yucatan area. The subspecies devius, melodus, and chiapensis and found from north to south along the western slope of Mexico. The subspecies dolichonyx is found in southern Chiapas into western Guatemala. The subspecies salvadoranus is found in El Salvador. The subspecies fuscus and conoveri are both found in central and eastern Honduras respectively.

The singing quail genus (Dactylortyx) contains a single species of small 8-9 inch quail. This lifeform is found from central and southern Mexico south into Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. This is a small, heavy bodied, short tailed quail. This mostly brown lifeform shows sexual dimorphism in face and breast.

Quail and Pheasant Family (Family Phasianidae) contains 178 species and is usually broken down into three separate subfamilies as follows: New World quails (Odontophorinae); true pheasants (Phasianinae); and Old World quails (Perdicinae). Some authors treat these three subfamilies as full families. Here they are treated as three different families. The New World Quails (Odontophoridae Family) contains about 31 species found only in the New World.

Fowl group (Galliformes order) contains the various chickens and turkey-like birds of the world. There are about 240 different species of fowl known. Many of the wild species are endangered. Several species such as the domesticated chicken and turkey are main food sources in the world. Most fowl are grain eaters and spend a good portion of their life searching for food on the ground. Select species have been domesticated for their beauty and/or edibility, others are considered good game birds.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

NEW SEARCH