The undulated tinamou (''Crypturellus undulatus'') 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 tinamous are from the family Tinamidae, so 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.

Subspecies

* ''C. u. manapiare'' is only known with certainty from the vicinity of the Ventuari River in northern Amazonas State in Venezuela, but probably also occurs in southwestern Amazonas State. * ''C. u. simplex'' occurs in southern

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, French Guiana (where only known from sight records), and northeastern Brazil (east of the Rio Negro and north of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

). * ''C. u. adspersus'' occurs in Brazil south of the Amazon River, from the

Tapajós River The Tapajós ( pt, Rio Tapajós ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. It is one of the largest clear ...

to the Madeira River. * ''C. u. yapura'' occurs in southeastern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, eastern Ecuador, northeastern and east-central Peru, and western Brazil (east to Rio Negro and the

Purús River The Purus River (Portuguese: ''Rio Purus''; Spanish: ''Río Purús'') is a tributary of the Amazon River in South America. Its drainage basin is , and the mean annual discharge is . The river shares its name with the Alto Purús National Park an ...

). * ''C. u. vermiculatus'' occurs in eastern Brazil from Maranhão, Tocantins, and

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

and east. * ''C. u. undulatus'' occurs in southeastern Peru, eastern and northern

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 ...

, the Pantanal region in Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. The exact distribution limits of some of the subspecies, though, are unclear. Notably, the population between the Madeira and Purús Rivers (between generally reported range of ''C. u. adspersus'' and ''C. u. yapura'') and the population between the Tapajós and

Araguaia River The Araguaia River ( pt, Rio Araguaia , Karajá: ♂ ''Berohokỹ'' eɾohoˈkə̃ ♀ ''Bèrakuhukỹ'' ɛɾakuhuˈkə̃ is one of the major rivers of Brazil though it is almost equal in volume at its confluence with the Tocantins. It has a total ...

s (between generally reported range of ''C. u. adspersus'' and ''C. u. vermiculatus'') 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 (for example, while ''C. u. undulatus'' is relatively rich brown and strongly barred, ''C. u. yapura'' is darker, more grey-tinged, and only has faint vermiculations). 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 Incubation period (also known as the latent period or latency period) is the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogenic organism, a chemical, or ionizing radiation, radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent. In a typical infect ...

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'' ("buy bread" in Spanish) or ''Eu sou jaó'' ("I am undulated tinamou" in Portuguese).

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 The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, significant parts are in drier habitats such as the Cerrado (most of the range of ''C. u. vermiculatus'' is in the Cerrado region). 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 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 ...

classifies it as least concern, and its range of occurrence has been estimated to .

References

External links

Undulated Tinamou videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection
Photo of ''Crypturellus u. undulatus''
Eric Gallardo. WikiAves.
Photo of ''Crypturellus undulatus adspersus''
Anselmo d'Affonseca. WikiAves.
Photo of ''Crypturellus undulatus simplex''
Kurazo M. Okada Aguiar. WikiAves.
Photo of ''Crypturellus undulatus vermiculatus''
Geiser Trivelato. WikiAves. *
Sounds
on the xeno canto collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q510118 undulated tinamou undulated tinamou Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Pantanal Birds of Brazil undulated tinamou