About Dendrortyx macroura (Jardine & Selby, 1828)
Dendrortyx macroura, commonly called the long-tailed wood partridge, measures 29.0 to 42.2 cm (11.4 to 16.6 in) in length and weighs 266 to 465 g (9.4 to 16.4 oz). Males are heavier than females. Adults of both sexes have a long tail, but the female's tail is somewhat shorter than the male's. In adults, most of the head is black, with white streaks on the face above and below the eye. The short crest on the crown has a buff-colored tip. The upper back is chestnut with gray edges, while the lower back has mottling of olive brown, black, and tawny. The breast is bluish gray marked with chestnut streaks. Juveniles are similar in appearance to adults, but have dark brown spots and less chestnut coloring on their underparts. There are plumage color differences between this species' subspecies, but it is not known whether subspecies differ in vocalizations or have genetic differences outside of plumage color. The subspecies of the long-tailed wood partridge are distributed across six discrete areas in Mexico. D. m. macroura is found in Mexico and Veracruz states, in east central Mexico. D. m. griseipectus occurs on the Pacific slope of Mexico, as well as in Mexico City and Morelos, in central Mexico. D. m. diversus is found in northwestern Jalisco, in west central Mexico. D. m. striatus is located in southern Jalisco, Michoacán, and Guerrero, in west central Mexico. D. m. inesperatus inhabits central Guerrero and southern Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. D. m. oaxacae is found in Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. This species lives in humid pine-oak, pine, fir, and montane evergreen forests that have dense understories. It occurs at elevations ranging from 1,200 to 3,300 m (3,900 to 10,800 ft).
