| Snow Mountain quail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration of female and male (in front) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Synoicus |
| Species: | S. monorthonyx |
| Binomial name | |
| Synoicus monorthonyx (van Oort, 1910) | |
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range inPapua, Indonesia | |
| Synonyms | |
Anurophasis monorthonyxvan Oort, 1910 | |
TheSnow Mountain quail (Synoicus monorthonyx), is a roughly 28-cm-long (11 in), dark brownquail ofalpinegrasslands. It was formerly considered the only member of thegenusAnurophasis, but phylogenetic analysis places it as thesister species to thebrown quail (S. ypsilophorus) in the genusSynoicus.[2] It has heavily marked brownplumage, a pale yellowbill, yellow legs and a browniris. The underparts of the female are whitish and more distinctly barred black than in the male.
The Snow Mountain quail is confined toWestern New Guinea's highest elevations, theSnow andStar Mountains. This little-known bird is protected only by the remoteness of its habitat, a mostly inaccessible area at altitudes of 3,000–4,200 m (9,800–13,800 ft).[1]
The female usually lays up to three, pale brown, dark-spotted eggs in a hollow nest under the edge of agrass tussock. The diet consists mainly of seeds, flowers, leaves, and other vegetable matter.
Due to its limited range, parts of which are getting increasingly accessible, the Snow Mountain quail is evaluated as "near threatened" on theIUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]
