The Story
I photographed this Chestnut Wood-Quail (Odontophorus hyperythrus) at La Florida, El Bosque de las Aves, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in February 2020. It lives mostly in the Western and Central Andes of Colombia, between 1,600 and 2,800 meters. Both sexes have grayish white feathers around the eye. It nests on the ground in a domed ball of leaves and twigs with a short tunnel entrance, and the female alone incubates four or five eggs. Family groups stay together for many months after hatching. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/50 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Chestnut Wood-Quail (Odontophorus hyperythrus) belongs to the family Odontophoridae (New World Quail) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List