The pale-browed tinamou (''Crypturellus transfasciatus'') 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 ...

found in tropical dry forests in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

.Clements, J (2007)

Etymology

''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 ...

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.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species. 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)

Description

The pale-browed tinamou is approximately in length. It is recognized by its greyish-brown upper coat which is finely vermiculated with black, and a white throat, with the remainder of its underparts greyish to buffy. Its flanks are barred, and it has a very brown crown, and a prominent white supercilium. Its legs are pink.

Behavior

Like other tinamous, the pale-browed tinamou eats fruit off the ground or low-lying bushes, and small amounts of

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

, flower buds, tender leaves, seeds, and roots. The male incubates the eggs which may come from as many as 5 different females, and then will raise them until they are ready to be on their own. The nest is located on the ground in dense brush or between raised root buttresses.

Range and habitat

The pale-browed tinamou is found in subtropical and tropical arid forests up to altitude. This species is native to western

; southern Manabí, Guayas, coastal and extreme western El Oro, and extreme northwestern Loja, and northwestern

; Tumbes and western (except coastal)

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

.BirdLife International (2008) It inhabits the

Ecuadorian dry forests The Ecuadorian dry forests (NT0214) is an ecoregion near the Pacific coast of the Ecuador. The habitat has been occupied by people for centuries and has been severely damaged by deforestation, overgrazing and hillside erosion due to unsustainable ...

and

Tumbes–Piura dry forests The Tumbes–Piura dry forests (NT0232) is an arid tropical ecoregion along the Pacific coasts of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion contains many endemic species of flora and birds adapted to the short wet season followed by a long ...

ecoregions.

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 pale-browed tinamou as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

, as their numbers are decreasing. It is currently threatened by widespread

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and habitat degradation caused by livestock

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

, and also logging. This species is also threatened by people hunting it for food. It also is suffering losses due to farming, however this is the least of the threats. The occurrence range of this species is .

News and popular culture

A video shared widely on social media in early February 2021, which claimed to have been recorded in the "Selva de Colombia" and purported to show National Liberation Army (ELN) support for the leftist candidate

Andrés Arauz Andrés Arauz Galarza (born 6 February 1985) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist. He was a candidate for President in the 2021 election. Background Andrés Arauz started his career as a public servant in 2009 at the Central Bank of Ec ...

in the 2021 Ecuadorian elections, was exposed as a fake after analysis of the video's audio channels revealed the calls of a pale-browed tinamou, which does not occur in Colombia.

Footnotes

References

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External links

Picture
{{Taxonbar, from=Q870099 Birds described in 1878 Birds of Ecuador Birds of Peru Crypturellus Ratites Tinamous of South America Taxa named by Philip Sclater Taxa named by Osbert Salvin