Nombre en español: Tinamú Patigrís
Nombre en inglés: Gray-legged Tinamou
Nombre científico: Crypturellus duidae
Familia: Tinamidae
El tinamú patigrís, soisola pata gris o inambú de patas grises Crypturellus duidae es una especie de ave del la familia Tinamidae, que se encuentra en Brasil, Colombia, Perú y Venezuela.
Hábitat
Vive en matorrales secos, varillales, bosques húmedos y sabanas, a menos de 500 m de altitud.
Descripción
Mide de 28 a 31 cm de longitud y pesa en promedio 426 g. El plumaje de las partes superiores es marrón oscuro con finamente barras negras en la grupa y la cola; la garganta es blanca; la crona, los lados de la cabeza, el cuello y las partes inferiores son de color rojizo rufo, teñido de gris en la parte superior del pecho y de color ante acanelado en el vientre y con barras negras en los flancos. La hembra tiene el plumaje más oscuro en la grupa, con barras amarillentas. Patas grises a azuladas.
Alimentación
Se alimentan de frutos y también de pequeñas cantidades de capullos de las flores, hojas tiernas, semillas, raíces e invertebrados.
Reproducción
El nido se encuentra en el suelo, entre arbustos densos o entre raíces aéreas. El macho incuba los huevos que pueden provenir de hasta cuatro hebras diferentes, y luego cuida de los polluelos hasta que pueden subsistir por sí mismos, normalmente 2 a 3 semanas.
Grey-legged tinamou
The grey-legged tinamou (Crypturellus duidae), alternatively, the gray-legged tinamou, is a small ground-dwelling bird endemic to the neotropics. It is a rarely seen bird due to its small size and discreet appearance.
Taxonomy
The grey-legged tinamou was first described by John T. Zimmer in 1938. The grey-legged tinamou, like all tinamous, is in the family tinamidae and the infraclass palaeognathae. In addition, There are 21 species in the genus Crypterellus, all of which are all South American tinamous.[5] There are no subspecies of the grey-legged tinamou; it is monotypic. The genus name, Crypterellus, is formed from three latin or greek words ‘krusptis’ meaning covered or hidden, ‘oura’ meaning tail and ‘ellus’ meaning diminutive. Therefore, crypterullus means small hidden tail.
There is much debate in the scientific community about the membership of tinamous to the ratite clade. Ratites are an order of large flightless birds that include ostrichs, kiwis, emus, and the extinct moa and elephant bird. Tinamous were historically considered a sister clade to ratites because they did not share the flightless quality of the rest of the group. However, some genetic evidence points to tinamous being close relatives of Moas, indicating that tinamous are also members of the ratite clade. This phylogeny suggests a novel method of the evolution of flightlessness in ratites and means that flightlessness was lost multiple times among different ratites. This taxonomy is, however, unresolved and requires further investigation for a conclusive answer.
Description
The grey-legged tinamou is a small ground-dwelling bird and a weak flyer. The grey-legged tinamou has a rusty coloured neck and upper back with a tinge of grey on its upper breast. The wings and the body of the tinamou are a scally brownish black. The grey-legged tinamou has a pronounced black eye. they vary from 28-31 cm in height. Males have a prominent dark crown of feathers on the top of the head, whereas females have a fully rusty coloured head. Females have markings on their backs and wings. The legs are a slate grey coloured which is described in the name of the species.
The grey-legged tinamou can be misidentified with the variegated tinamou. However, the variegated tinamou has a completely grey head and bolder barring on the wings and back.
Distribution and habitat
Grey-legged tinamous are native to South America, including Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, and northern Brazil. However, its distribution could be even further as the population is sparsely distributed and found in fragmented landscape. It is found in dry shrubland up to 500 m (1,600 ft) altitude. As a poor soil specialist, the grey-legged tinamous are commonly found in Amazonian white-sand forests. These forests are characterized by low-hanging canopies and dense foliage, allowing the grey-legged tinamous to remain inconspicuous. They have also been documented in peatland habitats.
Behavior
Vocalization
The call of the grey-legged tinamou is described as a short hollow sounding two-syllable whistle, with the pneumonic: “whoo-whoooooooo” with a slight rise near the end [5].. The call lasts 2-3 seconds. This is the only vocalization of the grey-legged tinamou recorded. See Grey-legged tinamou call eBird. Their call is most frequently at dawn and dusk, but also during the day when it is cloudy or rainy.
Diet
The grey-legged tinamou primarily consumes fruits and other plant matter. They feed primarily on low hanging or fallen fruit. Like all tinamous they forage on the ground and in low bushes. They have also been documented to consume insects and other ground-dwelling invertebrates .
Reproduction
Although there is no available information on the reproduction of the grey-legged tinamou, most tinamous species are ground nesters, typically choosing to nest in the depressions of the buttress roots of trees.
Conservation
In 2020 the IUCN classified the grey-legged tinamou as Least Concern, although there were calls to reclassified the species due to global population declines in the last two years in certain parts of their range. This is primarily due to increased threat from deforestation. The species is also threatened by hunting practices in the area. Indeed the regions the grey-legged tinamou is most commonly found is facing significant anthropogenic changes. although due to their large fragmented range there was yet to be detailed survey of their populations across their entire range.
