Singing Quail

SCI Name:  Dactylortyx thoracicus
Protonym:  Ortyx thoracicus Proc.Acad.Nat.Sci.Philadelphia 4 p.77
Taxonomy:  Galliformes / Odontophoridae / Dactylortyx
Taxonomy Code:  sinqua1
Type Locality:  Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Author:  Gambel
Publish Year:  1848
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

DACTYLORTYX
(Odontophoridae; Ϯ Singing Quail D. thoracicus) Gr. δακτυλος daktulos  toe; ορτυξ ortux, ορτυγος ortugos  quail; "57. DACTYLORTYX.  Sexes different.  Occipital feathers lengthened into a short crest.  1st primary equals the 8th; 4th longest.  Tail composed of 12 feathers, 2/5 of the length of the wing.  Tarsus much shorter than the middle toe and claw.  Claws very long, much like those of Arboricola.  Bill moderately stout, not so deep as that of Odontophorus.  Range. Central America; Southern Mexico, Yucatan, Guatemala, and San Salvador.   1. Dactylortyx thoracicus." (Ogilvie Grant 1893); "Dactylortyx Ogilvie-grant, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., 22, 1893, p. xiv, 99 (in key), 429. Type, by monotypy, Ortyx thoracicus Gambel." (Peters, 1934, II, p. 56).

thoracica / thoracicus
Med. L. thoracicus  pectoral, of the chest  < Gr. θωρακικος thōrakikos  suffering in the chest  < θωραξ thōrax, θωρακος thōrakos  breastplate.
● ex “Plastron Noir” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 123 (Apalis).
● ex “Alconcillo aplomado” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 39 (syn. Falco femoralis).

SUBSPECIES

Singing Quail (pettingilli)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus pettingilli
pettingilli
Dr Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. (1907-2001) US ornithologist, collector, film-maker (subsp. Dactylortyx thoracicus, syn. Megascops guatemalae hastatus).

Singing Quail (thoracicus)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus thoracicus
thoracica / thoracicus
Med. L. thoracicus  pectoral, of the chest  < Gr. θωρακικος thōrakikos  suffering in the chest  < θωραξ thōrax, θωρακος thōrakos  breastplate.
● ex “Plastron Noir” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 123 (Apalis).
● ex “Alconcillo aplomado” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 39 (syn. Falco femoralis).

Singing Quail (devius)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus devius
devius
L. devius  living in out of the way places, solitary  < de  away from; via  road.

Singing Quail (melodus)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus melodus
melodus
L. melodus  melodious  < Gr. μελωδος melōdos  musical  < μελος melos  song.
● ex Charadrius hiaticula var. of A. Wilson, 1812; "This species was described by Wilson in vol. v, American Ornithology, p. 30, under the name of Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, confusing it with another species and regarding it as a different plumage phase" (Trotter 1907) (Charadrius).

Singing Quail (ginetensis)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus ginetensis
ginetensis
Gineta Mt. (= Cerro de la Gineta), near Santa Efigenia, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Singing Quail (edwardsi)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus edwardsi
eduardi / edward / edwardi / edwardii / edwardsi / edwardsii
● Prof. Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1835-1900) French zoologist (‡Alectoris, syn. Casuarius bennetti westermanni, Lophura, syn. Porphyrio poliocephalus viridis).
● Edward Wilson (1808-1888) British naturalist, trochilidist, High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire (Amazilia).
● Prof. Henri Milne Edwards (1800-1885) French zoologist, father of Alphonse Milne-Edwards (syn. Ardeotis nigriceps, Bangsia, Calonectris, Carpodacus, syn. Nilaus afer, Psittaculirostris).
● George Edwards (1694-1773) English traveller, naturalist, painter (syn. Anser caerulescens (ex "Blue-Winged Goose" of Edwards 1750) (Laurent Raty in litt.), syn. Crax rubra (ex “Curasso-Bird” of Edwards 1760), syn. Euplectes orix (ex "Grenadier" of Edwards 1751), ?syn. Limosa haemastica (ex "White Godwit from Hudson's Bay" of Edwards 1750), syn. Loriculus beryllinus, syn. Manacus manacus (ex “Black-capped Manakin” of Edwards 1758, and “Manakin à tête noire de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 303, fig. 1), syn. Neophema pulchella (ex “Perruche Edwards” of Levaillant 1801), syn. Phaethon lepturus catesbyi (ex “Tropick Bird” of Edwards 1750)).
● Dr Ernest Preston Edwards (1919-2011) US ornithologist, collector (syn. Dactylortyx thoracicus chiapensis).
● Edward Prince of Wales (1894-1972) later Edward VIII (reigned 1936, abdicated) and Duke of Windsor (subsp. Menura novaehollandiae).
● Edward Charles Migdalski (1918-2009) US ichthyologist, collector, explorer, sportsman (syn. Spilopelia chinensis suratensis).
● Edward Charles Stuart Baker (1864-1944) British ornithologist, oologist, Indian Police 1883-1912, collector (syn. Thalasseus bergii velox).
● Sir Edward Newton (1832-1897) British assistant colonial secretary on Mauritius 1859-1877, naturalist, collector in Madagascar 1861-1862, and Seychelles 1866 (Tylas) (NB. edwardnewtoni is a misspelling of eponym enewtoni).
● Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom (1886-1970) Australian businessman, aviculturalist, philanthropist (Björn Bergenholtz in litt.) (subsp. Zapornia tabuensis).
● These eponyms were confused and frequently misspelled or mistakenly corrected (e.g. Tylas edwardsi).

Singing Quail (chiapensis)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus chiapensis
chiapensis
Chiapas, Mexico.

Singing Quail (moorei)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus moorei
moorei
● Robert Thomas Moore (1882-1958) US businessman, ornithologist, philanthropist, collector in Ecuador 1927, 1929 and Mexico 1933-1948 (syn. Dactylortyx thoracicus chiapensis, syn. Haemorhous mexicanus griscomi (ex Carpodacus mexicanus griscomi Moore, 1939)).
● Frederic Moore (1830-1907) English zoologist, entomologist, Assistant in the Museum of the Hon. East India Co. 1848, Assistant Curator / Zoological Superintendent of the India Museum 1858 (syn. Gracupica contra).
● George Henry Moore (1812-1905) Manx sheep-farmer in Tasmania 1830-1853, and New Zealand 1853-1905 (‡Harpagornis).
● Dr Henry Frank Moore (1867-1943) US zoologist with US Bureau of Fisheries 1903-1923 (syn. Ixobrychus sinensis).
● William E. Moore (fl. 1858) US taxidermist, collector in Ecuador (subsp. Phaethornis malaris).

Singing Quail (dolichonyx)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus dolichonyx
DOLICHONYX
(Icteridae; Ϯ Bobolink D. oryzivorus) Gr. δολιχος dolikhos  long; ονυξ onux, ονυχος onukhos  claw, nail; "G. DOLICHONYX. Swains. in Zool. Journ. No. 10.  Dolichonyx orzivorus [sic]. Sw. Wilson ii. pl. 12. f. 1, 2.  Table land." (Swainson 1827 (Philos. Mag., ser. 2, I); "DOLICHONYX.  Rostrum breve, conicum, acutum, immarginatum.  Alæ longæ, attenuatæ; remigibus 1ma et 2da æqualibus, longissimis.  Cauda scansoria, subgradata; rectricibus rigidis, abrupte acuminatis.  Pedes graciles, longiusculi; digitis longis; unguibus gracilibus, acutis, subcurvatis.  ... Type. Emberiza oryzivora. Wilson, 2. Pl. 12. fig.1.  This singular bird is distinguished from all its congeners by having a tail perfectly scansorial; not merely worn, but formed precisely upon the same model as that of Dendrocolaptes." (Swainson 1827 (Zool. Journal, III)); "Dolichonyx Swainson, 1827, Philos. Mag., new ser., 1, p. 435. Type, by monotypy, Fringilla oryzivora Linnaeus." (Blake in Peters, 1968, XIV, p. 201).
Var. Dolichonix, Doliconyx, Dolychonyx, Dolychronyx, Dolychonix.
Synon. Dolychoeix.

Singing Quail (sharpei)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus sharpei
sharpei
Dr Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847-1909) British ornithologist at BMNH 1872-1909, founder member of BOC 1892 (subsp. Accipiter albogularis, subsp. Aegithalos bonvaloti, subsp. Anthoscopus sylviella, subsp. Camaroptera brachyura, subsp. Caprimulgus tristigma, syn. Ceyx erithaca, syn. Chrysococcyx cupreus, subsp. Coereba flaveola, subsp. Columba delegorguei, syn. Coracias naevius, subsp. Dactylortyx thoracicus, subsp. Dicrurus ludwigii, syn. Edolisoma incertum, syn. Eremomela icteropygialis saturatior, Euchrepomis, subsp. Eulabeornis castaneoventris, syn. Euschistospiza dybowskii, syn. Hypotaenidia philippensis, Lalage, syn. Laterallus spilonotus, syn. Lophura nycthemera lineata, Macronyx, subsp. Melanospiza bicolor, subsp. Meliphaga aruensis, syn. Merops pusillus cyanostictus, Monticola, syn. Muscicapa boehmi, syn. Myzomela melanocephala, subsp. Pachycephala pectoralis, syn. Phoeniculus bollei, syn. Phyllastrephus strepitans, syn. Picumnus albosquamatus guttifer, Picus, syn. Pogoniulus chrysoconus, syn. Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana, syn. Rhipidura albiscapa, Sheppardia, subsp. Sicalis uropigyalis, Smithornis, syn. Smutsornis africanus, subsp. Sporophila morelleti, syn. Tauraco schuettii emini, subsp. Telacanthura ussheri, subsp. Treron calvus, subsp. Trochalopteron milnei, Turdoides, syn. Zosterops atrifrons) (see sharpii).

Singing Quail (paynteri)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus paynteri
paynteri
Dr Raymond Andrew Paynter, Jr. (1925-2003) US ornithologist, explorer, collector, Curator of Birds, MCZ (Atlapetes).

Singing Quail (calophonus)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus calophonus
calophonus
Gr. καλος kalos  good, fine; φωνη phōnē  voice, cry  < φωνεω phōneō  to speak (cf. καλλιφωνος kalliphōnos  with a fine voice).

Singing Quail (salvadoranus)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus salvadoranus
salvadoranus / salvadorensis
El Salvador (abbreviated from Spanish name for the territory Provincia de Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo el Salvador del Mundo, when it formed part of New Spain).

Singing Quail (taylori)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus taylori
taylori
● Dr Sir George Taylor (1904-1993) Scottish botanist, collector, Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh 1956-1971 (subsp. Chloris ambigua).
● Claude H. Taylor (fl. 1914) South African naturalist, collector (syn. Chlorophoneus olivaceus).
● Frank Mansfield Taylor (1850-1930) US businessman, patron and President of Colorado Mus. of Natural History 1916-1930 (subsp. Colinus virginianus).
● Frederic William Taylor (1876-1944) US agronomist, botanist, Director- Gen. of El Salvador Agriculture 1923-1927 (subsp. Dactylortyx thoracicus).
● Charles B. Taylor (fl. 1896) collector in Jamaica and Cayman Is. (Pyrrhulagra, syn. Trochilus polytmus).
● Anthony Taylor (fl. 1884) collector in Ecuador (subsp. Tangara ruficervix).
● Edward Cavendish Taylor (1831-1905) English ornithologist, traveller, collector in the West Indies 1862-1863 (subsp. Tyrannus caudifasciatus).

Singing Quail (fuscus)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus fuscus
fuscus
L. fuscus  brown, dusky, dark-coloured, black (see also fusca).
● ex “Merula Philippensis” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Acridotheres tristis).
● ex “Brown Thrush” of Latham 1783, and Pennant 1785 (syn. Catharus swainsoni).
● ex “Alondra parda” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 147 (Cinclodes).
● ex “Sucrier Namaquois” or “Sucrier à Caleçon Blanc” of Levaillant 1812, pl. 296 (Cinnyris).
● "77. SCOLOPAX.  ...  fusca.  3. S. rostro arcuato, pedibus rubris, corpore fusco, cauda basi alba.  Numenius fuscus. Catesb. car. I. p. 83. t. 83.  Habitat in America.  Antecedentes 1. 2. 3. structura nimis affines, sed colore corporis diversæ." (Linnaeus 1758) (syn. Eudocimus albus ☼) (see ruber and albus).
● ex “Brown-headed Oriole” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Euphagus carolinus).
● ex “Martin-pêcheur de la côte Malabar” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 894 (syn. Halcyon smyrnensis).
● "69. LARUS.  ...  fuscus.  4. L. albus, dorso fusco. Fn. svec. 126.  Habitat in Europa." (Linnaeus 1758) (Larus).
● ex “Brown Merganser” (= ♀) of Pennant 1785 (?syn. Lophodytes cucullatus).
● ex “Mésange Brune à Poitrine Noire” of Levaillant 1804, pl. 139, fig. 1 (syn. Melaniparus afer).
● ex “Brown-headed Oriole” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Molothrus ater).
● (Boddaert 1783) ex “Vautour de Malthe” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 427 (= ☼) (syn. Neophron percnopterus).
● (J. Gmelin 1788) ex “Vultur fuscus” of Brisson 1760, “Vautour de Malthe” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 427, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Avoltojo Griffone” of Cetti 1776 (syn. Neophron percnopterus).
● ex “Brown Pelican” of Latham 1785 (syn. Pelecanus occidentalis).
● ex Tringa lobata Linnaeus, 1758, and “Phalarope cendré” and “Phalarope brun” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Phalaropus lobatus).
● ex “Little Dusky Parrot” of Edwards 1764 (Pionus).
● ex “Merle huppé du cap de bonne Espérance” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 563, fig. 1 (syn. Pycnonotus cafer).
● ex “Black-cap Fly-catcher” of Catesby 1731-1743, and Latham 1783, “Muscicapa carolinensis fusca” of Brisson 1760, “Gobe-mouche noirâtre de la Caroline” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Black-headed Fly-catcher of Pennant 1785 (syn. Sayornis phoebe).
● ex “Brown Tody” of Latham 1781 (unident.).

Singing Quail (rufescens)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus rufescens
rufescens
L. rufescens, rufescentis  reddish  < rufescere  to become reddish  < rufus  red.
● ex “Aigrette rousse de la Louisiane” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 902, “Aigrette rousse” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Reddish Egret” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Egretta).
● ex “Gobe-mouche roux de Cayenne” (= ♀) of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 453, fig. 1, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Rufous Fly-catcher” of Latham 1783 (syn. Pachyramphus rufus).
● ex “Red-backed Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Pelecanus).
● ex Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758, and “Phalarope roussâtre” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Phalaropus fulicarius).
● ex “Ynambú guazú” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 326 (Rhynchotus).
● ex “Crombec” or “Figuier à Bec Courbi” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 135 (Sylvietta).

Singing Quail (conoveri)
SCI Name: Dactylortyx thoracicus conoveri
conoveri
Lt. Henry Boardman Conover (1892-1950) US Army, civil engineer, ornithologist, collector in the Neotropics and East Africa (subsp. Dactylortyx thoracicus, Leptotila).