Undulated tinamou

The undulated tinamou is a species of ground bird found in a wide range of wooded habitats in eastern and northern South America.

Etymology

Its generic name 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. The specific name undulatus originates from the Latin word unda, meaning "wave", and means "furnished with wave-like markings".

Taxonomy

All Crypturellus are in the family Tinamidae, thus are classed as ratites, making them relatives of the cassowary, emu, kiwi, ostrich and rhea. Unlike these larger birds, however, tinamous still have the ability to fly, albeit somewhat weakly and not for prolonged periods. It is thought that all ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, hence their distant populations in Australia and Oceania; the tinamou is the closest, smallest living relative of these birds.

Subspecies

Crypturellus undulatus manapiare is only known, with certainty, from the vicinity of the Ventuari River in northern Amazonas State, Venezuela, but probably also occurs in SW Amazonas.
Crypturellus undulatus simplex occurs in southern Guyana, French Guiana and NE Brazil.
Crypturellus undulatus adspersus occurs in Brazil, from the Tapajós to the Madeira River.
Crypturellus undulatus yapura occurs from SE Colombia, eastern Ecuador, NE and East-Central Perú, and western Brazil.
Crypturellus undulatus vermiculatus occurs in eastern Brazil, from Maranhão, Tocantins and Mato Grosso and east.
Crypturellus undulatus undulatus occurs in SE Perú, eastern and northern Bolivia, the Brazilian Pantanal, Paraguay and northern Argentina.

The exact distribution limits of certain subspecies, however, are unclear; notably, the population between the Madeira and Purus Rivers and the population between the Tapajós and Araguaia Rivers appear not to have been assigned to subspecies.

Description

The undulated tinamou is about in length, and weighs around. Depending on subspecies, it is overall brownish tinged grey to various extents, and has a strong, black, barred to faint vermiculated pattern on the back and neck. It has a whitish throat, and the remainders of its underparts are olive-grey to buff with dark vermiculation on its lower flanks and vent. Its bill is black above and grey below. The legs and feet are grey, dull yellow, or greenish.

Behavior

The nest of the undulated tinamou consists of a depression on the ground, where the female lays around three glossy vinaceous, pink or light-grey eggs. The incubation time is 17 days in captivity. It feeds on small fruits, seeds and insects.
As other tinamous, the undulated tinamou is secretive, and more frequently heard than seen. The song, commonly given throughout the day, consists of a deep, three- or four-noted whistle, which has been described by the onomatopoetic com-pra pan or eu sou jaó.

Habitat

The undulated tinamou occurs at altitudes of up to. It occurs in a wide range of wooded habitats, ranging from dense, humid Amazonian forests, to dry, relatively open savanna-woodland. Although most of the range of the undulated tinamou is in the Amazon Basin, significant parts are in drier habitats such as the Cerrado. Though generally considered resident, minor seasonal movements between habitats do occur locally.

Conservation

Though heavily hunted in some regions, the undulated tinamou remains common in most parts of its range. The IUCN classifies it as least concern, and its range of occurrence has been estimated to.