Black-eared Wood Quail

The black-eared wood quail (Odontophorus melanotis) is a gallinaceous bird found in Central America. Its body is dark brown or black with a rufous breast. The most characteristic features of this bird are its unspotted chestnut crown and crest and its black face and throat. It has a black bill, blue-black legs and a purple bare ring around its eye. Females are close in appearance to males, but have a blue-black eye ring instead of purple, darker sides of the head and duller chestnut colors. Voice: Duetting is considered to be widespread within New World wood quail. Black-eared wood quail make soft, cooing or peeping conversational sounds among members of their covey. They also have an advertising call, which is a repetitive, ringing duet that can be sung by a lone bird and carries across long distances. The sound is described as "kooLAWlik kooLAWlik kooLAWK kooLAWK" or "LAWcooKLAWcoo".