Ornate Tinamou vs Puna Tinamou
Nothoprocta ornata compared with Tinamotis pentlandii
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Ornate Tinamou | Puna Tinamou |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Nothoprocta ornata | Tinamotis pentlandii |
| Order | Tinamiformes | Tinamiformes |
| Family | Tinamidae | Tinamidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 37.1 cm (14.6 in) | 50.7 cm (20.0 in) |
| Weight | 624.5 g (22.03 oz) | 943.2 g (33.27 oz) |
| Diet | Herbivorous, grazing grasses and sedges near water; dabbles for aquatic invertebrates during breeding; forms large … | Eats grasses, roots, and aquatic plants; grazes pastures and wetland margins; diet shifts to cereal … |
| Clutch Size | 4-9 | 4-7 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Ornate Tinamou
High puna grassland, rocky outcrops, and shrubby slopes at 3,000–4,800 m in the Andes from Peru through Bolivia to northwestern Argentina and Chile. Often near rocky gullies and streams.
Puna Tinamou
Open puna grassland, bunchgrass plains, and rocky hillsides at 3,500–5,000 m in the Andes from Peru through Bolivia to northern Chile and northwestern Argentina.
Song & Call Comparison
Ornate Tinamou
A musical, clear whistle from Andean puna and bofedales. Call is a repeated 2-note phrase. Considered one of the more melodic high-elevation tinamous in the genus.
Puna Tinamou
A high-pitched, clear whistle from high Andean puna. Call carries through the thin air of altiplano above 4,000 m elevation. Among the highest-dwelling tinamou species.
Geographic Range & Migration
Ornate Tinamou
Ranges along Pacific slopes of the Andes from Ecuador to central Chile. Sedentary in arid and semi-arid foothill scrub.
Puna Tinamou
Inhabits marshes and wetland edges across the Southern Cone; from southeastern Brazil to Patagonian Argentina. Partially migratory.
Conservation Status
Ornate Tinamou
Puna Tinamou
How to Tell Them Apart
Ornate Tinamou
Intricately patterned; upperparts grayish-brown with black streaks and whitish shaft streaks. Bold pale supercilium. Breast spotted and streaked on pale buff. Belly whitish. Striking Andean species.
Puna Tinamou
Large; grayish-brown upperparts streaked dark. Crown grayish with pale central stripe; white supercilium. Breast grayish spotted; flanks barred. Belly whitish. Adapted to high-altitude Andean puna.
About These Birds
Ornate Tinamou
A striking medium-sized tinamou with intricately patterned brown, black, and white plumage—one of the most ornately marked tinamou species. Found in Andean puna from Peru to Argentina. Terrestrial and gregarious, often found in small flocks. Calls with a clear fluted whistle.
Puna Tinamou
A large robustly built tinamou with grey-brown streaked plumage and a slightly crested head. The only tinamou with a vestigial crest. Found on high Andean puna and altiplano. Gregarious, foraging in flocks on bunchgrass plains and rocky hillsides.