Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge

The buffy-crowned wood partridge is 28 to 35.5 cm (11.0 to 14.0 in) long. Males weigh an estimated 397 g (14.0 oz) and females an estimated 340 g (12 oz). The nominate subspecies' forehead, supercilium, chin, and throat are white. It has a patch of bare red skin around the eye. The crown, its short crest, and the nape are chestnut and the back, wings, and tail are chesnut and gray. The belly is blue-gray with chestnut streaks. D. l. hypospodius is larger, darker, and grayer. The stripes on the breast are very dark and much narrower.

The buffy-crowned wood partridge is found in three separate areas. The nominate subspecies is found from Chiapas in southern Mexico into western Guatemala and in Honduras, El Salvador, northwestern Nicaragua, and far eastern Guatemala. D. l. hypospodius is found in central Costa Rica. The species inhabits several humid to semi-humid montane forest types including oak-pine, evergreen, and cloudforest. It can be found in secondary forest, partially logged areas, and coffee plantations.

The buffy-crowned wood partridge apparently forages by scratching through leaf litter. Its diet has not been well studied but includes seeds, buds, small fruits, and invertebrates. It moves about in family groups of four to six and in the non-breeding season in coveys of up to 12.