Black-eared Wood-Quail

How to find it

Start with your ears: listening for its calls is the easiest way to locate this shy species. Early morning or late afternoon is suggested, when the birds are most active and vocal.

One writer found it only by quiet, careful stalking on a trail in mature foothill rainforest, and thinks it is probably easier to find when birding on your own. Move slowly, stop often and let the group calls guide you.

In nearby Panama it is described as hard to see, though it may turn up in humid forest in the lowlands and foothills. Be ready to enjoy the sound, as some birders only hear it.

How to recognise it

Start with the head. The most distinctive marks are an unspotted chestnut crown and a blackish face and throat.

Then look at the rest of the bird:

- Body: dark brown to black.

- Breast: rufous.

- Bill: black.

- Legs: blue-black.

- Eye: a bare purple ring around it.

Because it keeps to the forest floor, views are often brief, so these details are worth learning before you go. The bare purple eye ring is the kind of mark that can still register in a quick glimpse.

Behaviour and diet

This is a ground-dwelling, territorial forest bird. It feeds on insects and fruit and may be alone or in small groups.

The territorial side has been watched in Costa Rica. Two birds approached with whistles and confronted a lone bird until it was driven from the territory, after one calling bird drew a reply from afar. At Don Alejo's Trails and Gardens in the northern volcano foothills of Guanacaste, observers found two groups calling and answering each other, and one group chased off a lone bird.

A birding writer describes it as quiet and extra careful, and a 2024 tour report calls it very skittish.

Where it lives

Across its range it favours tropical and subtropical forest from sea level to about 1600 m. It is often found on the floor of mature forest or in thick second growth, and it seems to tolerate dense second growth.

In Costa Rica the nominate form is found on the Caribbean side, and the species ranges over the Caribbean slope of Central America. It is listed among the regional endemic birds of the Gandoca-Manzanillo and Sixaola area on the southern Caribbean side. It has also been photographed in the Alajuela side of the northern lowlands near Tenorio.

Similar birds

Costa Rica has two lowland wood-quails, so location helps. The Black-eared lives in wet Caribbean-side forest, while the Marbled lives in southern Pacific slope rainforest. Further afield it is closely related to the Rufous-fronted Wood-Quail of western Colombia and Ecuador, and is sometimes treated as the same species.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican sources list the Spanish name as Codorniz Orejinegra. Local nicknames are Chirrascuá and Gallinita, and another name in use is Codorniz pechicastaña.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican list marks it as a resident regional endemic (R-END), and Avibase lists it as Near-threatened for Costa Rica.

Photography tips

Patience beats gear here. One writer found it only by quiet, careful stalking on a trail in mature foothill rainforest. Early morning or late afternoon, when the birds are most vocal, is the time to listen for calls and then approach slowly.