• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Least Concern
2016	Vulnerable	B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)
2012	Vulnerable	B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)
2008	Vulnerable	B1a+b(i,ii,iii,v)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	322 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	10,100 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	6,500 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	9200-13800 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2022
Population trend	decreasing	poor	suspected	2017-2031
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	4.71 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	3-100	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The species is commonly observed (Renjifo et al. 2014, eBird 2022). In the wet season (March-June), it is considered that 1 km² supports c.2-3 groups, probably a minimum of 2-3 pairs in total (P. G. W. Salaman in litt. 1999). Under the assumption that this density is representative and that 50% of forests within the range are occupied (i.e., 2,300 km²; Global Forest Watch 2022), the global population may number 4,600-6,900 pairs. This equates to 9,200-13,800 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The population trend has not been quantified. Tree cover loss within the range is very low (2% over three generations; Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). Apart from mature forests, the species is also found in secondary growth, tangled shrubby undergrowth and open-canopy forest (Renjifo et al. 2014, Carroll et al. 2020); consequently, the current rate of tree cover loss may not be affecting the population. The species may however be subject to hunting (Carroll et al. 2020); even though its impact on the population size has not been quantified it is here precautionarily suspected that hunting is driving a slow population decline, not exceeding 10% over three generations (14.1 years).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Colombia	extant	native	yes
Ecuador	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Colombia	La Planada Natural Reserve
Colombia	Reserva Natural El Pangán
Colombia	Reserva Natural Río Ñambí
Ecuador	Bosque Protector Los Cedros
Ecuador	El Ángel - Cerro Golondrinas and surrounding areas
Ecuador	Intag-Toisán
Ecuador	Los Bancos - Milpe
Ecuador	Maquipucuna-Río Guayllabamba
Ecuador	Mashpi-Pachijal
Ecuador	Mindo and western foothills of Volcan Pichincha
Ecuador	Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas
Ecuador	Reserva Ecológica Los Illinizas y alrededores
Ecuador	Río Toachi-Chiriboga
Ecuador	Territorio Étnico Awá y alrededores

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	900 - 2390 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Dark-backed Wood-quail Odontophorus melanonotus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/dark-backed-wood-quail-odontophorus-melanonotus on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.