- Tinamus tao
Identification
42·5–49 cm
A large greyish tinamou, grey above, finely speckled or barred with black, olive-grey vermiculated with black below and undertail cinnamon. Head and neck blackish with white spotting on neck and white throat.
Distribution
South America: resident from north and west Colombia, Venezuela and Guyana south to eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- T. t. larensis:
- T. t. kleei:
- T. t. septentrionalis:
- North-eastern Venezuela and possibly north-western Guyana
- T. t. tao:
- North-central Brazil to borders of eastern Peru and Bolivia
Habitat
Humid rainforest, cloud forest and dense scrub up to 1900m.
Behaviour
Very secretive and difficult to see, rarely flies when disturbed, usually slipping away unnoticed into cover.
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of seeds, with the addition of fruit, vertebrates, molluscs and insects.
Vocalisation
A loud, high-pitched trill, usually uttered at dusk.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Gray Tinamou. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gray_Tinamou