Solitary tinamou | |
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At Intervales State Park, São Paulo, Brazil | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Subclass: | Neornithes |
Infraclass: | Paleognathae |
Order: | Tinamiformes |
Family: | Tinamidae |
Subfamily: | Tinaminae |
Genus: | Tinamus |
Species: | T. solitarius |
Binomial name | |
Tinamus solitarius (Vieillot, 1819) |
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Synonyms | |
Cryptura solitaria (Vieillot) |
Cryptura solitaria (Vieillot)
Tinamus solitarius pernambucensis (Berla, 1946)
The solitary tinamou (Tinamus solitarius) is a species of paleognath ground bird. This species is native to Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil.
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. Formerly, this bird was divided into two subspecies: T. s. pernambucensis in north-east Brazil (Pernambuco and Alagoas), and T. s. solitarius found in south-east Paraguay and extreme north-east Argentina. The former, however, turned out to be not distinct from the nominate but rather individual birds that showed a particular color morph which is now known to also occur elsewhere. Notably, the hue of the back varies between olive and rusty, and the intensity of the lower neck's plumage color also varies. The black barring in these areas is more or less strong. pernambucensis refers to yellower birds with much barring, especially on the neck.
The solitary tinamou is a large brownish tinamou heavily barred with black. Its neck, breast, and flanks are grey, and its belly is white. It has a dark brown crown and a white throat on its yellowish head and neck, which contrasts with a distinctive buff line on the side of the neck. It averages 45 cm (18 in) in length.
It is found in southeastern Bahia, eastern Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, eastern Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and northern Rio Grande do Sul states. It is also found in southeastern Paraguay and extreme north-east Argentina in Misiones province.