Colinus Explained

Colinus is a genus of birds in the New World quail family, Odontophoridae. Members of the genus are commonly known as bobwhites.

Taxonomy

The genus Colinus was introduced in 1820 by the German naturalist Georg August Goldfuss to accommodate a single species, Perdrix mexicanus, a junior synonym of Tetrao virginiatus Linnaeus, 1758, the northern bobwhite, which is the type species by monotypy.^{[1] [2]} The genus name come from the Nahuatl language Zōlin meaning "quail".^[3]

Species

The genus contains four species.^[4]

Fossil species

• †Colinus eatoni
• †Colinus suilium Brodkorb 1959
• †Colinus hibbardi Wetmore 1944

Notes and References

1. Book: Goldfuss, Georg August . Georg August Goldfuss . 1820 . Handbuch der Zoologie . 2 . German . Nürnberg . J.L. Schrag . 220 .
2. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1934 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 2 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 46 .
3. Web site: Jobling . James A. . Colinus . The Key to Scientific Names . Cornell Lab of Ornithology . 18 February 2025 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela C. Rasmussen . August 2024 . Pheasants, partridges, francolins . IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 19 February 2025.