colino plumifero (oreortix pictus)

Colino Plumifero (Oreortyx Pictus) Mountain Quail

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Odontophoridae
Genus:	OreortyxBaird, 1858
Species:	O. pictus
Binomial name
Oreortyx pictus(Douglas, 1829)

The Mountain Quail (Oreortyx pictus) is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. This species is theonly one in the genus Oreortyx, which is sometimes included in Callipepla. This is not appropriate, however, as the Mountain Quail's ancestors have diverged from other New World quails earlier than the bobwhites.The bird's average length is 26–28 cm, with a wingspan of 35–40 cm. They have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs.

These birds are easily recognized by their top knots, which are shorter in the female. They have a brown face, gray breast, brown back and primaries, and heavily white barred underside

Mountain Quail primarily move about by walking, and can move surprisingly quickly through brush and undergrowth. In the late summer, fall and winter, the adults and immature young congregate into family groups of up to 20 birds. The birds habits can be secretive. Any flight is usually short and explosive, with many rapid wingbeats followed by a slow glide to the ground.

It inhabits mountainous chapparal west of the Rocky Mountains, from the United States to Baja peninsula Mexico. It has been introduced to British Columbia inCanada, and some areas of Washington state in the USA. It can be found up to 3000 m above sea level. It is a non-migratory species; however some populations may be altitudinal migrants in some mountain ranges.

Its diet consists primarily of plant matter and seeds. The chicks are decidedly more insectivorous than adults, gradually consuming more plant matter as they mature.

Breeding among Mountain Quail is monogamous, and rarely gregarious. The female typically lays 9–10 eggs in a simple scrape concealed in vegetation, often at the base of a tree or shrub, usually close to water. Incubation lasts from 21–25 days, usually performed by the female and rarely by the male. The chicks are precocial, leaving the nest with their parents within hours of hatching.