Cyrtonyx montezumae
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's quail, the harlequin quail (for the male's striking pattern), and the fool quail (for its behavior).
The Montezuma quail was formally described in 1830 by Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors under the binomial name Ortyx montezumae based on a specimen collected in Mexico. This species is now placed in the genus Cyrtonyx that was introduced in 1844 by English ornithologist John Gould, with Montezuma quail as the type species. The specific epithet montezumae is from the name of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin.
The southern populations are sometimes considered a separate species, Cyrtonyx sallei. The Montezuma quail, though, is sometimes considered conspecific with the very similar ocellated quail, Cyrtonyx ocellatus, which replaces it from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to northern Nicaragua. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecological Center of Sonora | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 3 | Royal Burgers' Zoo | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 4 | Buttonwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Elmwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Tropical Birdland, Leicestershire | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Montezuma Quail sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 216th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Montezuma Quail in Saguaro National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Montezuma Quail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Montezuma Quail sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (United States, under 5%) and Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Montezuma Quail is recorded against all the birds logged in Saguaro National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
