Red-legged tinamou
Red-legged tinamou | |
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Illustration by Keulemans, 1895 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
Order: | Tinamiformes |
Family: | Tinamidae |
Genus: | Crypturellus |
Species: | C. erythropus
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Binomial name | |
Crypturellus erythropus | |
Subspecies[2] | |
C. e. erythropus (Pelzeln, 1863) | |
Synonyms | |
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The red-legged tinamou or red-footed tinamou,[3] (Crypturellus erythropus) is a ground-dwelling bird found in the tropics and lower subtropics of northern South America.[4]
Description
The red-legged tinamou is superficially similar to a
Behavior
As other tinamous, it is recorded infrequently, except by its whistling voice. It has been recorded feeding on seeds, berries, snails, and insects. Little is known about its breeding behavior, but the glossy eggs are pale greyish-lavender with a variable amount of pink suffusion.
Etymology
Crypturellus is formed from three Latin or Greek words/parts. kruptos meaning covered or hidden, oura meaning tail, and -ellus a Latin diminutive suffix. Therefore, Crypturellus means small hidden tail.[5]
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.[6]
Red-legged tinamou subspecies are:
- C. e. erythropus located in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and northeastern Brazil.[4]
- C. e. cursitans located east of the Andes in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.[4]
- C. e. spencei located in northern Venezuela.[4]
- C. e. margaritae located on Margarita Island.[4]
The
Additionally, several subspecies usually associated with the red-legged tinamou have been associated with other species in the past, especially the thicket tinamou, the Choco tinamou and the yellow-legged tinamou.[7]
Range and habitat
The red-legged tinamou lives in Guyana, Suriname, Colombia, Venezuela and northeastern Brazil, and on Margarita Island.[4] It may also be found in French Guiana.[1] Its favored habitat is dry forest, although it can be found in moist forest and lower elevation shrubland and grasslands. It prefers elevations below 1,300 m (4,300 ft).[8]
Conservation
The red-legged tinamou is uncommon to locally common in most of its range, but the
Footnotes
References
- BirdLife International (2008). "Red-legged Tinamou - BirdLife Species Factsheet". Data Zone. Retrieved 6 Feb 2009.
- Brands, Sheila (Aug 14, 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Crypturellus erythropus". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved Feb 4, 2009.
- Clements, James (2007). The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World (6th ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4501-9.
- Davies, S.J.J.F. & Bamford, Mike (2002): Ratites and tinamous : Tinamidae, Rheidae, Dromaiidae, Casuariidae, Apterygidae, Struthionidae. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York. ISBN 0-19-854996-2
- Davies, S.J.J.F. (2003). "Tinamous". In Hutchins, Michael (ed.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2nd 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.
- Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Remsen Jr., J. V.; et al. (Mar 2006). "species limits in Crypturellus erythropus group". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 Feb 2009.
- Remsen Jr., J. V.; et al. (30 Jan 2009). "Classification of birds of South America Part 01". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 9 Feb 2009.