🐦

Grey Tinamou

Tinamus tao

Vulnerable
Envergadura
55,7 cm
Peso
1674,5 g
Família
Tinamidae
Ordem
Tinamiformes
On this page

Sobre

A large tinamou with uniform grey-brown plumage, barred flanks, and a long pale bill. Terrestrial and cryptic, moving silently through undergrowth. Found in Andean foothills and montane forests. Males incubate brilliantly colored turquoise-green eggs alone. Often detected by its haunting flute-like call at dawn.

Physical Description

Measurement Value Imperial
Envergadura 55,7 cm 21.9 in
Peso 1674,5 g 59.07 oz

Identificação

Plumagem

Uniform dark slate-gray upperparts finely vermiculated with black. Throat whitish; breast pale gray. Flanks barred with dark brown. Sexes similar; cryptic plumage suits humid forest floor.

Habitat & Range

Tropical and subtropical humid montane forest from Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia and northern Brazil at 200–1,800 m. Favors dense undergrowth near forest streams. Nests on the ground among leaf litter.

Distribuição geográfica

Found in open habitats across South America from Colombia and Venezuela to Chile and Argentina. Sedentary; some local altitudinal shifts.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivorous tinamou feeding on seeds, fruits, and tender leaves in Andean foothills; occasionally takes insects and small invertebrates.

Estado de conservação

Vulnerable
IUCN Red List

Comportamento e reprodução

Nidificação

Nest type: SC.

Tamanho da postura

2-9

Som

Canto

A series of haunting, flute-like hollow whistles 'whooo-wooo' delivered at dawn and dusk from within humid forest. Mournful, far-carrying quality typical of large forest tinamous.

Taxonomia

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Ordem Tinamiformes (Tinamous)
Família Tinamidae (Tinamous)
Genus Tinamus
Espécies Tinamus tao

Distribution

Grey Tinamou has been recorded in 4 countries.

{# Distribution Map — simplified SVG world map with highlighted countries. Expects `country_codes` variable: list of ISO alpha-2 codes (e.g. ["US", "CA", "MX"]). Uses Alpine.js to toggle classes on country paths. #}
Presente Not recorded
{# Simplified country/region shapes — major landmasses with ISO alpha-2 data attributes. These are simplified polygon representations for visual distribution display. #}

countries highlighted

External Databases

Perguntas frequentes

What does the Grey Tinamou eat?
Herbivorous tinamou feeding on seeds, fruits, and tender leaves in Andean foothills; occasionally takes insects and small invertebrates.
Where does the Grey Tinamou live?
Tropical and subtropical humid montane forest from Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia and northern Brazil at 200–1,800 m. Favors dense undergrowth near forest streams. Nests on the ground among leaf litter.
Is the Grey Tinamou endangered?
The Grey Tinamou has a conservation status of Vulnerable.
How does the Grey Tinamou nest?
Nest type: SC.
What does the Grey Tinamou sound like?
A series of haunting, flute-like hollow whistles 'whooo-wooo' delivered at dawn and dusk from within humid forest. Mournful, far-carrying quality typical of large forest tinamous.
How big is the Grey Tinamou?
The Grey Tinamou has a wingspan of 55.7 cm, weight of 1674.5 g.
What order and family does the Grey Tinamou belong to?
The Grey Tinamou (Tinamus tao) belongs to the order Tinamiformes and the family Tinamidae.

Similar Birds

Other species in the Tinamidae family

Comparar

Explore More

Explore the Nature FYI Family