The Andean tinamou (''Nothoprocta pentlandii'') is a

tinamou Tinamous () are members of the order Tinamiformes (), and family Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamily, subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" comes from the Carib la ...

, found commonly in high-altitude shrubland, in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

.Clements, J. (2007)

Taxonomy

All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also

ratite Ratites () are a polyphyletic group consisting of all birds within the infraclass Palaeognathae that lack keels and cannot fly. They are mostly large, long-necked, and long-legged, the exception being the kiwi, which is also the only nocturnal ...

s. Unlike other ratites, tinamous can fly, although in general, they are not strong fliers. All ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, and tinamous are the closest living relative of these birds.Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003) ''pentlandii'' is the Latin form of Pentland which commemorates the

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...

Joseph Barclay Pentland Joseph Barclay Pentland (17 January 1797Joseph Barclay Pentland
in ''Dictionary of Uls ...

Subspecies

The Andean Tinamou has seven subspecies as follows: * ''N. p. pentlandii'', the nominate race, occurs in the

of western

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, northwestern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and extreme northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. * ''N. p. ambigua'' occurs in the

of southern

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and northwestern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. * ''N. p. oustaleti'' occurs on the west slope of the

in central and southern

. * ''N. p. niethammeri'' occurs in coastal central

. * ''N. p. fulvescens'' occurs in the

of southeastern

. * ''N. p. doeringi'' occurs in the

Sierras de Córdoba The Sierras de Córdoba is a mountain range in central Argentina, located between the Pampas to the east and south and the Gran Chaco, Chaco to the north and east. Most of the range is located in Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba Province ...

in San Luis and

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

Provinces,

. * ''N. p. mendozae'' occurs in the

of west central

Neuquén Neuquén (; ) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers which form t ...

and Mendoza Provinces.

Description

The Andean tinamou is approximately in length. Its upper parts are greyish-brown to olive brown and barred with black and white. Its breast is grey and spotted with white or buff, its belly is buff or whitish and its crown is black, the sides of its head and throat are mottled grey, and its legs are yellow.

Range and habitat

The Andean tinamou can be found in the

from southern

to central

, as well as in the

. It prefers subtropical and tropical shrubland at altitude.

Conservation

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

classifies the Andean tinamou as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

, with an occurrence range of .BirdLife International (2008)

Footnotes

References

* * * * *

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet

-

Saint Louis Zoo The Saint Louis Zoo, officially known as the Saint Louis Zoological Park, is a zoo in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. The zoo is accredited by th ...

Andean Tinamou videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q1270445

Andean tinamou The Andean tinamou (''Nothoprocta pentlandii'') is a tinamou, found commonly in high-altitude shrubland, in the Andes of South America.Clements, J. (2007) Taxonomy All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also rati ...

Birds of the Andes Birds of Argentina