Berlepsch's tinamou
| Berlepsch's tinamou | |
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| Berlepsch's tinamou is the bird in the center. The bird on the left is another species. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Tinamiformes |
| Family: | Tinamidae |
| Subfamily: | Tinaminae |
| Genus: | Crypturellus |
| Species: | C. berlepschi |
| Binomial name | |
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Crypturellus berlepschi Rothschild 1897 |
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The Berlepsch's tinamou (Crypturellus berlepschi) is a type of ground bird found in moist forest in northwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.
The Berlepsch's tinamou is a monotypic species. 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. Until the mid 20th century, this species was considered a sub-species of the cinereous tinamou, but due to its bill size, its ratio of toe and tarsus length and the fact that its plumage has conspicuous differences from that of the cinereous tinamou created enough of a question for the new species to be named.
Crypturellus is formed from three Latin or Greek words. kruptos meaning covered or hidden, oura meaning tail, and ellus meaning diminutive. Therefore, Crypturellus means small hidden tail.berlepschi comes from the Latin form of Berlepsch to commemorate the German ornithologist and collector Hans von Berlepsch.
Berlepsch's tinamou is a medium-sized bird, about 29.6–32 centimetres (11.7–12.6 in), with the male weighing 430–537 grams (15.2–18.9 oz) and the female weighing 512–615 grams (18.1–21.7 oz). The plumage of this bird varies somewhat; however there are some features that can be quantified, such as, in general the color is a brownish black to a deep sooty brown. Also, the head and throat tend to be darker than the rest of the body, with a reddish tinge to its crown and nape. The legs and feet are pink and the bill has a dark upper mandible and a pinkish lower mandible. Its bill is longer and heavier than that of the cinereous tinamou. Finally, its iris is red.
The juvenile form of the bird is similar in coloring to the adult; however it does have barring on its under-parts and also on its wings with a cinnamon tinge to them.
Its range is extreme northern coastal Ecuador north into coastal Colombia, as far north as Utria National Park (Bahia de Capica). This tinamou lives in lowland moist forest in sub-tropical to tropical regions, and will also choose to live in a mature secondary forest. It has also proven that it can survive in forests that have been logged. In Colombia it will choose the coastal lowlands and hills up to 500 metres (1,600 ft), although it has been found as high as 900 metres (3,000 ft).
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Wikipedia