Spotted wood-quail

Scientific name: Odontophorus guttatus

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Males are dark slate-grey with bold white spotting on the head, neck, and upperparts; females are duller brown with less distinct spotting. Both sexes have a compact, rounded body shape and relatively long legs adapted for ground-foraging.

Size and weight

Adults weigh 110–180 g, with body length 20–24 cm; males typically slightly larger than females.

Habitat

Spotted wood-quails inhabit humid montane forests and forest edges between 800–2,600 m elevation. They prefer dense understory vegetation, fallen logs, and leaf litter in areas with moderate canopy cover.

Distribution

Found in the highlands of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, typically in humid cloud forest and pine-oak forest zones between 800–2,600 m.

Diet

They feed primarily on fallen seeds, invertebrates (insects, spiders, earthworms), and small berries picked from leaf litter and low vegetation.

Behaviour

Spotted wood-quails are secretive and primarily crepuscular, with peak activity at dawn and dusk; they are terrestrial, solitary or in pairs, and move quietly through dense cover with explosive flushing when disturbed.

Hunting tips

Scout for fine scratches and small depressions in leaf litter indicating feeding activity, and listen for their distinctive calls at dawn and dusk. Move slowly through dense understory, pausing frequently to flush birds from thick cover; approach from below when hunting slopes, as birds tend to flush uphill. Early morning in humid forest fog often yields best contact.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 1 country in Huntify.

Honduras

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.