Snow Mountain Quail
Encyclopedia
The Snow Mountains Quail (Anurophasis monorthonyx), also known as the Snow Mountain Quail, is a large, approximately 28 cm (11 in) long, dark brown quail
of Alpine
grassland
s. It is the only member of the genus
Anurophasis. It has a brown plumage
, a horn-coloured bill
, yellow legs and a brown iris
. The underparts of the female are whitish and more heavily black barred than in the male.
An Indonesia
n endemic, the Snow Mountains Quail is confined to New Guinea
s highest elevations, the Snow Mountains of Irian Jaya. This little known bird is protected only by the remoteness of its habitat, an inaccessible area at an altitude over 3,000 m (9,850 feet).
The female usually lays up to three pale brown, dark-spotted eggs in a hollow nest under the edge of a grass tussock. The diet consists mainly of seeds, flowers, leaves and other vegetable matter.
Due to its limited range and it being unprotected by Indonesian government, the Snow Mountains Quail is evaluated as Near Threatened
on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
of Alpine
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as mountain climate or highland climate....
grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s. It is the only member of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Anurophasis. It has a brown plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, a horn-coloured bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
, yellow legs and a brown iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
. The underparts of the female are whitish and more heavily black barred than in the male.
An Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n endemic, the Snow Mountains Quail is confined to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
s highest elevations, the Snow Mountains of Irian Jaya. This little known bird is protected only by the remoteness of its habitat, an inaccessible area at an altitude over 3,000 m (9,850 feet).
The female usually lays up to three pale brown, dark-spotted eggs in a hollow nest under the edge of a grass tussock. The diet consists mainly of seeds, flowers, leaves and other vegetable matter.
Due to its limited range and it being unprotected by Indonesian government, the Snow Mountains Quail is evaluated as Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.