The ornate tinamou (''Nothoprocta ornata'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in the high altitude grassland and dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of west central South America.Clements, J. (2007)

Etymology

''Nothoprocta'' comes from two Greek words, ''nothos'' meaning spurious or counterfeit and ''prōktos'' meaning hindpart or tail. Experts are unsure, however, they believe that this refers to the hidden tail of this Genus behind body feathers.

Taxonomy

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

ratite A ratite () is any of a diverse group of flightless, large, long-necked, and long-legged birds of the infraclass Palaeognathae. Kiwi, the exception, are much smaller and shorter-legged and are the only nocturnal extant ratites. The systematics ...

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) Kalinowski's tinamou ''Nothoprocta kalinowskii'' was considered a separate species but further research has deemed it a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''Nothoprocta ornata branickii'', and the SACC voted to do just that on 14 Feb 2007.Remsen Jr., J. V. (2007)

Subspecies

The ornate tinamou has three subspecies as follows: * ''N. o. ornata'' The nominate race occurs in the Andes of southeastern Peru, extreme northern Chile and western

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

* ''N. o. branickii'' occurs in the puna of central Peru; Ancash, Lima, Ica, Junín, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, and Apurímac Regions * ''N. o. rostrata'' occurs in the Andes of northwestern Argentina; Jujuy and La Rioja Provinces

Description

The ornate tinamou is approximately in length. Its upper parts are brownish-grey marked with black and buff, it is tawny-buff below with darker barring. Its head and neck are buff with prominent black spots, its bill is slender and curved, and its legs are either yellow or grey.

Behavior

Like other tinamous, the ornate tinamou eats fruit off the ground or low-lying bushes. They also eat small amounts of invertebrates, flower buds, tender leaves, seeds, and roots. The male incubates the eggs which may come from as many as 4 different females, and then will raise them until they are ready to be on their own, usually 2–3 weeks. The nest is located on the ground in dense brush or between raised root buttresses.

Range

This species is native to the puna of central Peru and the Andes of southeastern Peru, western

, extreme northern Chile, and northwestern Argentina.

Habitat

The ornate tinamou lives in high-altitude grassland. They also live in shrubland, both high and low elevation, and they are showing some success of living on farmland. They prefer elevations of .

Conservation

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

list this species as Least Concern, with an occurrence rang eof .BirdLife International (2008)

Footnotes

References

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External links

Ornate Tinamou videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q1267803 ornate tinamou ornate tinamou Birds of the Puna grassland ornate tinamou ornate tinamou