Little tinamou
Voice
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Tinamiformes
Family: Tinamidae
Genus: Crypturellus
Species:
C. soui
Binomial name
Crypturellus soui
(Hermann, 1783)[2]
Subspecies[2]

C. s. meserythrus (Sclater, 1859)
C. s. modestus (Cabanis, 1869)
C. s. capnodes (Wetmore, 1963)
C. s. poliocephalus (Aldrich, 1937)
C. s. caucae (Chapman, 1912)
C. s. harterti (Brabourne &Chubb, 1914)
C. s. mustelinus (Bangs, 1905)
C. s. caqueta (Chapman, 1915)
C. s. nigriceps (Chapman, 1923)
C. s. soui (Hermann, 1783)
C. s. albigularis
(Brabourne & Chubb, 1914)
C. s. inconspicuus (Carriker, 1935)
C. s. andrei (Brabourne & Chubb, 1914)
C. s. panamensis (Carriker, 1910)

Synonyms

Tinamus soui[3]

The little tinamou (Crypturellus soui) is a species of tinamou. It is found in Central and South America, as well as on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.[4]

Etymology

Crypturellus is formed from three Latin or Greek words. kruptos meaning covered or hidden, oura meaning tail, and ellus meaning diminutive. Therefore, Crypturellus means small hidden tail.[5]

Taxonomy

The little tinamou is one of 21 species in the genus Crypturellus, the most species-rich genus of tinamous. All tinamous are in the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also palaeognaths, a group that includes the more widely known flightless ratites such as ostriches and emus. Unlike the ratites, though, tinamous can fly, although in general they are not strong fliers. All palaeognaths evolved from flying ancestors.[6]

Subspecies

Distribution and habitat

Little tinamou near Zamora, Ecuador

It is a resident breeder in tropical lowland forests, rivers-edge forests, lowland evergreen forest, secondary forest,[3] and lowland shrublands at an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). They are also fairly successful utilizing cleared forests and plantations or farmed land.[1]

Behavior

Little tinamou are shy, secretive, and pair-solitary animals. Despite their abundance, they are rarely sighted. In the field, they are detected by sound more often than sight. The whistle call is a soft, descending whinny (also a series of single notes, tempo increasing at end) produced by both sexes. They eat seeds, berries, and some insects. They can fly but will run unless flight is necessary. They are highly territorial and will attack when encroached upon if the intruding bird is not their mate. There is evidence that they will maintain the same territory for years.

Breeding

The breeding season of the little tinamou ranges from May to October. Nests are a small depression in forest floor, sometimes lined with a few leaves at the base of a tree or in dense brush. Females perform courtship behavior and eggs are incubated by males. Male nest attendance is strong, up to 14 days without leaving the nest in one study. They typically lay two glossy dark-purple eggs (up to three have been observed). The size of the egg is approximately 32 to 41 mm (1.3–1.6 in). Young are precocial, and begin pecking the ground on the first day. They can run almost as soon as they hatch. By weeks 3-4 they are capable of full flight. Egg laying begins at one year old.

Description

The little tinamou is approximately 22 to 24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long and weighs 220 g (7.8 oz). Although it looks similar to other ground-dwelling birds like quail and grouse, it is unrelated to those groups. It has an unbarred sooty-brown plumage which transitions to grey on the head. The foreneck is whitish. While the underside of both male and female is cinnamon buff, the female is a lighter shade. The legs can be grey, olive, or yellow. Both male and female are almost tailess.

Conservation

The IUCN list the little tinamou as Least Concern,[1] with an occurrence range of 9,500,000 km2 (3,700,000 sq mi).[7]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2016). "Crypturellus soui". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22678169A95208453. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678169A95208453.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Brands, S. (2008)
  3. 1 2 American Ornithologists' Union (1998)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Clements, J (2007)
  5. ↑ Gotch, A. F. (1195)
  6. ↑ Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)
  7. ↑

References

  • American Ornithologists' Union (1998) [1983]. "Tinamiformes: Tinamidae: Tinamous". Check-list of North American Birds (PDF) (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union . p. 2. ISBN 1-891276-00-X.
  • Brands, Sheila (Aug 14, 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Crypturellus soui". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved Feb 9, 2009.
  • Brooks, Daniel M. “Behavior, Reproduction, and Development in Little Tinamou (Crypturellus Soui).” The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, vol. 127, no. 4, 2015, pp. 761–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24640589. Accessed 15 Jun. 2022.
  • Clements, James (2007). The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World (6th ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4501-9.
  • Davies, S.J.J.F. (2003). "Tinamous". In Hutchins, Michael (ed.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 57–59. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Gotch, A. F. (1995) [1979]. "Tinamous". Latin Names Explained. A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. p. 183. ISBN 0-8160-3377-3.
  • Hilty, Birds of Venezuela, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
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