Lesser Nothura

About

A very small tinamou with finely streaked brown plumage and whitish underparts. One of the smallest tinamous. Restricted to the cerrado campos and grasslands of central Brazil. Critically Endangered due to loss of native cerrado. Calls with a thin high-pitched whistle.

Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Imperial
Wingspan	22.0 cm	8.7 in
Weight	163.33333333333334 g	5.76 oz

Identification

Plumage

Tiny cerrado tinamou; brown upperparts with fine buff and black streaking. Pale supercilium. Throat and breast buff-white spotted brown. Belly whitish. Smallest Nothura; threatened grassland specialist.

Habitat & Range

Native campo sujo and campo limpo grasslands of the cerrado biome in central Brazil. Highly dependent on intact native grassland with bunchgrass structure; very sensitive to exotic grass invasion and burning.

🌾 Grassland

Geographic Range

Found in open grassy habitats of central South America from Bolivia and Brazil to Argentina. Sedentary; forages in short grassland.

Diet & Feeding

Eats grasses, seeds, and aquatic plants; migratory; supplements diet with invertebrates in breeding season across northern wetlands.

Conservation Status

Vulnerable

IUCN Red List

Behavior & Breeding

Clutch Size

2-4

Sound

Song

A thin, high whistle, poorly documented due to its vulnerable status and restricted campos habitat in interior Brazil. Rarely recorded; calls are considered similar to Spotted Nothura.

Taxonomy

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Tinamiformes (Tinamous)
Family	Tinamidae (Tinamous)
Genus	Nothura
Species	Nothura minor

Distribution

Lesser Nothura has been recorded in 1 countries.

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Present Not recorded

countries highlighted

🇳🇴 Norway

External Databases

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Lesser Nothura eat?

Eats grasses, seeds, and aquatic plants; migratory; supplements diet with invertebrates in breeding season across northern wetlands.

Where does the Lesser Nothura live?

Native campo sujo and campo limpo grasslands of the cerrado biome in central Brazil. Highly dependent on intact native grassland with bunchgrass structure; very sensitive to exotic grass invasion and burning.

Is the Lesser Nothura endangered?

The Lesser Nothura has a conservation status of Vulnerable.

What does the Lesser Nothura sound like?

A thin, high whistle, poorly documented due to its vulnerable status and restricted campos habitat in interior Brazil. Rarely recorded; calls are considered similar to Spotted Nothura.

How big is the Lesser Nothura?

The Lesser Nothura has a wingspan of 22.0 cm, weight of 163.33333333333334 g.

What order and family does the Lesser Nothura belong to?

The Lesser Nothura (Nothura minor) belongs to the order Tinamiformes and the family Tinamidae.