The Chilean tinamou (''Nothoprocta perdicaria'') is a type of
tinamou
Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...
commonly found in high altitude shrubland in subtropical regions of central
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
.
[Clements, J (2007)]
Taxonomy
All
tinamous
Tinamous () form an order (biology), order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family (biology), family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamily, subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America ...
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, tinamou can fly, although in general, they are not strong fliers. All ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, and tinamou are the closest living relative of these birds.
[Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)] ''Crypturellus'' is formed from three
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
or
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
words. ''kruptos'' meaning covered or hidden, ''oura'' meaning tail, and ''ellus'' meaning diminutive. Therefore, ''Crypturellus'' means small hidden tail.
Subspecies
The Chilean tinamou has two subspecies as follows:
* ''N. p. perdicaria'', nominate race, occurs in the semi-arid grasslands of north central
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
;
Atacama
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the w ...
,
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...
,
ValparaÃso
ValparaÃso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of ValparaÃso, Chile. "Greater ValparaÃso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. ValparaÃso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
,
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,
O'Higgins,
Maule and
Ñuble Regions.
* ''N. p. sanborni'' occurs in south central
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
;
Maule,
Ñuble,
Bio-bio,
AraucanÃa Regions, and northern
Los Lagos Region
Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...
and adjacent
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
Distribution and habitat
The Chilean tinamou can be found in the high altitude shrubland at altitude. This species is native to all of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
except southern
Los Lagos,
Tarapacá
San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile.
History
The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego d ...
,
Antofagasta
Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.
After the Spanish American wars ...
,
Aisén, and
Magallanes y Antarctica Chilena.
[BirdLife International (2008)] This tinamou can also be found in arid mountain forests in association with such trees as ''
Acacia caven
''Vachellia caven'' (Roman cassie, , aromo criollo, caven, , , espinillo, espinillo de baado, espino, espino maulino) is an ornamental tree in the family Fabaceae. ''Vachellia caven'' is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uru ...
'', ''
Porlieria chilensis
''Porlieria chilensis'' is a plant that occurs in South America. In fact, all genus members are small trees or shrubs found on the South American continent. An example occurrence of ''P. chilensis'' is in the arid forested area of central Chile, ...
'' and the
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
''
Jubaea chilensis
''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...
''. It has been
introduced to
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
.
[Jaramillo, A. (2008)]
Description
The Chilean tinamou is approximately in length. It is almost tail-less and is stocky in shape. It has a bill that is curved and similar to the
California quail
The California quail (''Callipepla californica''), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or '' plume'', made of six feathers, tha ...
. It has thick, short, pale, yellowish legs. It generally walks upright and has "short tail and tail coverts drooping behind legs." The pattern on its upper body looks striped, but is more complex in detail. It has a buffy face with a dark eyeline that is drooping and a small strip on its cheek, with a lighter colored crown. Its neck is brown and its lower neck has dark spots. It has a complex patterns that streak on the side of the chest, which is grey. The Chilean tinamou, just south of the
Maule Region
The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...
, has a brownish chest instead of a grey chest and more and reddish brown stripes on its upperbody and buttocks. For both regions, it has large wings that cover the body when on ground, and when flying the wings appear large and reddish brown underneath. The wings are also rounded.
[Jaramillo, Alvaro, 28.]
It has a loud stride
whistle
A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a larg ...
that sounds double-syllabled and sounds like "''sweee weee''." When under stress, it releases a lowering series of whistles that sounds like "''swee wee wee wee''" along with fast-paced wing sounds.
Behavior
The females lay 10-12 glossy eggs in a scrape. The male incubates the eggs and raises the chicks.
The eggs are covered with feathers when left unattended. Incubation is around 21 days. The chicks are buff with dark stripes, and run soon after hatching and fly when half-grown. Later in life blue or gray spots may appear.
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 ...
classifies the Chilean tinamou as
Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
,
with an occurrence range of .
Footnotes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*Hogan, Michael C.(2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg*
*Jaramillo, Alvaro. ''Birds of Chile.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press (2003).
External links
Chilean Tinamou videos, photos & soundson the Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q860730
Chilean tinamou
The Chilean tinamou (''Nothoprocta perdicaria'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in high altitude shrubland in subtropical regions of central Chile.Clements, J (2007)
Taxonomy
All tinamous are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger sch ...
Birds of Chile
Chilean tinamou
The Chilean tinamou (''Nothoprocta perdicaria'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in high altitude shrubland in subtropical regions of central Chile.Clements, J (2007)
Taxonomy
All tinamous are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger sch ...
Chilean tinamou
The Chilean tinamou (''Nothoprocta perdicaria'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in high altitude shrubland in subtropical regions of central Chile.Clements, J (2007)
Taxonomy
All tinamous are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger sch ...
Taxa named by Heinrich von Kittlitz