ABSTRACT
Historically placed within the Phasianidae, New World Quails form a distinct group of mostly ground-dwelling granivores or omnivores that occupy a diverse array of habitats, although they tend to be more closely associated with forests in the tropics. Their short, stout bill has serrations near the tip, which is notably different from other chunky ground-dwelling birds, including pheasants and tinamous. Tropical species are typically less notably sexually dichromatic than temperate taxa. The preformative molt in temperate, and probably also tropical species is incomplete; the outer two primaries and all primary coverts are retained, at least in some species. The preformative molt may be prolonged such that it coincides with a hormone shift, causing feathers replaced earlier in the molt to be more juvenile-like, whereas those replaced later in the molt are more adult-like. A considerable amount of information remains to be gathered about this family, especially in the tropics.
