Black-capped Tinamou

The Black-capped Tinamou, Crypturellus atrocapillus, is a type of Tinamou commonly found in the moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions.

Taxonomy

All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also Ratites. 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.^[3]

The Black-capped Tinamou has two subspecies as follows:

• C. a. atrocapillus, nominate race, occurs in the lowlands of southeastern Peru^[4].
• C. a. garleppi in the lowlands of northern Bolivia^[4].

Etymology

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.^[5]

Description

The Black-capped Tinamou is approximately 28–30 cm (11–12 in) in length. Its upper-parts are brown, mottled and barred blackish, throat and neck are rufescent, breast is dark grey, and the remainder of underparts are cinnamon to buff. Its cap is blackish and legs could be pale red or bright red. The females are more heavily barred above.

Behavior

Like other Tinamous, the Black-capped 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.^[3]

Range and habitat

It is found in moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions up to 900 m (3,000 ft) altitude.^[6] This species is native to southeastern Peru and northern Bolivia^[4].

Conservation

It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 120,000 km² (46,000 sq mi).^[6]. It is rated as Least Concern status by the IUCN^[1]

Footnotes

References

• BirdLife International (2008). Crypturellus atrocapillus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 07 Feb 2009.
• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Brands, Sheila (August 14, 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Crypturellus atrocapillus". Project: The Taxonomicon. http://www.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/51328.htm. Retrieved Feb 04 2009. 
• Clements, James (2007). The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World (6 ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978 0 8014 4501 9. 
• Davies, S.J.J.F. (2003). "Tinamous". In Hutchins, Michael. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 57–59. ISBN 0 7876 5784 0. 
• Gotch, A. F. (1995) [1979]. "Tinamous". Latin Names Explained. A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. p. 183. ISBN 0 8160 3377 3.