White-throated tinamou

White-throated tinamou
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Tinamiformes
Family: Tinamidae
Subfamily: Tinaminae
Genus: Tinamus
Species: T. guttatus
Binomial name
Tinamus guttatus
(Pelzeln, 1863)[2]

The white-throated tinamou (Tinamus guttatus) is a species of bird native to the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, northern Bolivia, southeastern Colombia, northeastern Ecuador, eastern Peru and southern Venezuela.[3]

Taxonomy

All tinamous are part of the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. All ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, to which tinamous are the closest living relatives.[4] The white-throated tinamou is a monotypic species.[3]

Etymology

Tinamus guttatus comes from two different languages. Tinamus is what the native tribe, Galibi, call tinamous, and guttatus means speckled from Latin.[5]

Description

The white-throated tinamou has chestnut-brown upperparts with blackish streaking on lower back and small yellowish-white spots. It has paler underparts with wider, dark barring on flanks. It has a grey head and neck, with a white throat, brown eye, and brown bill. These birds measure between 32 and 36 cm (13 and 14 in) in length.

Behavior

Like other tinamous, the white-throated tinamou eats fruit off the ground or low-lying bushes, as well as invertebrates, flower buds, tender leaves, seeds, and roots. The male incubates the eggs which may come from as many as four different females, and then will raise them until they are ready to be on their own, usually two to three weeks. The nest is located on the ground in dense brush or between raised root buttresses.[4]

Range and habitat

They inhabit sub-tropical and tropical lowland forests at around 500 m (1,600 ft) or lower.[1] They eat seeds, fruits and invertebrates. Along with other species of tinamous.

Conservation

It is a relatively abundant species in its habitat and the main threat to it is deforestation. As of 2012 the status of the white-throated tinamou is Near Threatened, and it has a range occurrence of 4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi).[1] Its eggs are prized possessions to some collectors.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2012). "Tinamus guttatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. โ†‘ Brands, S. (2008)
  3. 1 2 Clements, J (2007)
  4. 1 2 Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)
  5. โ†‘ Gotch, A. F. (1995)

References

External links


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