Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Marbled Wood-Quail (Odontophorus gujanensis)
Photo: Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marbled Wood-Quail

Family Odontophoridae

Marbled Wood-Quail

Odontophorus gujanensis

In Spanish: Codorniz Corcovado (Julián Piojo)

  • Resident

A shy forest quail that walks in single file and sings in duet.

The Marbled Wood-Quail is a plump, short-tailed quail that walks the shaded forest floor in small groups, scratching through leaf litter. In Costa Rica it lives in the southern Pacific lowlands and valleys, and its range reaches north to Carara National Park.

It is scarce and patchy here, and guides at Carara call it a tough bird to see. On a trip we build, forest trails at Carara are where guests most often meet it, so a sighting feels like a real treat.

How to find it

Listen first: one Carara guide found a group by hearing them scratch in the leaf litter, then watched them through a scope. Calls come most often at dawn and dusk, so early mornings on the forest trails make sense. A Carara guide suggests spending as much time as possible on the back loop of the trails beyond the stream. Check the edges of fallen trees and scrub, where it sometimes steps into the open.

How to recognise it

This is a plump, short-tailed quail about 25 cm long. Look for the dark brown crest, the rusty sides to the head and the reddish bare skin around the eye, which can look like a bright orange-red ring through a scope. The bill is black and the legs are gray. The neck and upper back look grayish, while the upperparts are brown with black and buff markings. The underparts are buff, with faint barring in buff and black. Young birds look like adults but have reddish-orange bills and plain reddish-brown crests.

What it sounds like

0:21

Recording: Roger A. Morales-Flores, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Groups of 5 to 8 birds walk in single file on the forest floor. They stay in shaded areas and scratch through leaf litter for fallen fruit, insects and worms. When people approach they slip away quietly on foot, and if surprised at close range they burst into flight. They are tame where not hunted and wary where hunted. At Carara, one group climbed onto a low branch and roosted together for several minutes.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it is a resident of the lowlands and inland valleys on the southern Pacific side, from sea level to roughly 1,200 m. It prefers secondary forest on rolling, wooded terrain. Its range reaches north to Carara National Park, and it is still fairly common in the forests of the Golfo Dulce region. The subspecies castigatus lives in the southwest of the country.

When to see it

Breeding in Costa Rica runs from January to August.

Similar birds

Black-eared Wood-Quail is the look-alike to check: it has an unspotted chestnut crown and a blackish throat and face, while Marbled shows bare orange or red skin around the eye. Costa Rica also has Black-breasted and Spotted Wood-Quails.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Spanish name on the official list is Codorniz Corcovado, with the local nickname Julián Piojo. An older Costa Rican list also gives Codorniz Carirroja, meaning red-faced quail. Some locals say Corcovado National Park is named after a native quail called the corcovado, which ties the name to the Osa landscape.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican list gives it resident status, and it is considered threatened with extinction in the country.

Photography tips

It is elusive and stays in the undergrowth, so patience in shaded forest pays off. Scan the edges of fallen trees and scrub where it sometimes comes into the open. A scope helps with the eye ring, and a trio at Carara was confiding enough to watch from the trail.

How we know this 24 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Especies de Costa Rica (INBio text, via Flickr) read 2026-11-04https://www.flickr.com/photos/jobando/32879948263
  2. Biosonidos UNED read 2026-11-04https://biosonidos.uned.ac.cr//?q=node/114
  3. Wikipedia (via The Bio Files) read 2026-11-04https://www.thebiofiles.com/info/6657
  4. Bird Watching Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://www.birdwatchingcostarica.com/ave/marbled-wood-quail/
  5. Birds Colombia (Wikipedia text) read 2026-11-04https://birdscolombia.com/2022/06/22/perdiz-corcovada-marbled-wood-quail-odontophorus-gujanensis/
  6. Aves de Costa Rica (AOCR) read 2026-11-04https://www.avesdecostarica.org/odontophoridae.html
  7. Lista Oficial de las Aves de Costa Rica (AOCR) read 2026-11-04https://listaoficialavesdecostarica.wordpress.com/lista-oficial/lista-oficial-online/
  8. Fremeaux, Ambiances du Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://www.fremeaux.com/en/3315-ambiances-du-costa-rica-3448960261722-fa617.html
  9. Birding Craft read 2026-11-04https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/tag/carara/
  10. Birding Craft read 2026-11-04https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2016/10/09/humid-forest-birding-in-carara-national-park/
  11. Field Guides Birding Tours report, Summer Costa Rica 2023 read 2026-11-04https://fieldguides.com/triplists/cos23b.html
  12. Two Weeks in Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/birding-carara-national-park/
  13. Cornell Birds of the World (Black-eared Wood-Quail) read 2026-11-04https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/bewqua1/cur/introduction
  14. Ballena Tales read 2026-11-04https://ballenatales.com/corcovado-national-park/
  15. Lista Oficial de las Aves de Costa Rica, nuevos registros read 2026-11-04https://listaoficialavesdecostarica.wordpress.com/nuevos-registros/
  16. Birds of the World (Cornell) read 2026-11-04https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/mawqua1/cur/introduction
  17. Tropical Feathers Costa Rica Birding Tours read 2026-11-04http://www.costaricabirdingtours.com/birding-costa-rica-the-osa-peninsula-esquinas-rainforest-lodge-and-bosque-del-rio-tigre.html
  18. Costa Rica Focus read 2026-11-04https://www.costaricafocus.com/birding-corcovado-national-park-costa-rica-a-complete-guide/
  19. Quetzal by Car read 2026-11-04https://www.quetzalbycar.com/locations/osa-peninsula-and-southern-lowlands
  20. Eagle-Eye Tours read 2026-11-04https://www.eagle-eye.com/blog/costa-rica-birding-trip-report-jan-11-27-2026/
  21. Travel Excellence read 2026-11-04https://www.travelexcellence.com/costa-rica-guide/bird-watching-in-costa-rica/
  22. Wikipedia read 2026-11-04https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odontophorus_gujanensis
  23. Birdwatching in Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://birdwatchingincostarica.com/bird-lists/
  24. Birds of Colombia read 2026-11-04https://birdsofcolombia.com/pages/marbled-wood-quail