Tawny-breasted Tinamou (Nothocercus julius)

Tawny-breasted Tinamou
Nothocercus julius Chocora de Tama

Identification: 15-16" (38-41cm). Bill blackish; legs dark gray. Forecrown chestnut, otherwise brown above evenly and densely barred black throughout; sides of head cinnamon rufous, chin and throat white (conspic.), neck dark gray faintly barred dusky and becoming bright cinnamon rufous on breast and belly; thighs and flanks olive brown barred black.

Sim. species: See duller Highland Tinamou which lacks barring above, is much duller below, and has buff (not white) throat. Also see larger Gray Tinamou.

Voice: In Ecuador a chantlike ser. of short, fluttery trills, t’r’r’r’a, t’r’r’r’a,..., fairly high in pitch, for up to 30 or more sec at ca. 3 per 2 sec; song fades at end, often with lower-pitched trill near end.


Behavior: As in Highland Tinamou.

Status and habitat: A poorly known sp. found mostly outside Venez. Wet montane forest (cloud forest). Occurs mainly above range of Highland Tinamou.

Range: 2400-2800m. S Tachira at headwaters of Rio Tachira (Paramo de Tama; Villa Paez) and upper Rio Chiquito at Cerro El Retiro. Colombia s in Andes to s Peru.

Source: Avibirds

Source: Tom Friedel

Highland Tinamou (Nothocercus bonapartei)

Highland Tinamou
Nothocercus bonapartei Gallina Cuero 

Identification: 15-16" (38-41cm). 810g. Bill dusky brown, base of lower mandible flesh; legs dark brown. Rather large, dark, uniform-looking highland tinamou. Crown and nape sooty black; otherwise above rich dark brown, back, wings, and tail dotted buffy white (or occas. almost no spots), flight feathers obscurely barred dusky, throat contrasting buff, neck dark chestnut brown becoming rufescent brown to tawny brown on breast, paler on belly; lower underparts with fine wavy black lines.

Sim. species: Slaty crown and buff throat are good marks. Tawny-breasted Tinamou has chestnut crown, barred upperparts, and white throat. Gray Tinamou is larger and grayer. Also cf. Brown Tinamou.

Voice: Song a loud, bisyllabic, and nasal tuy-onk, or ca’wow, ca. 1/sec, with honking or barking quality; repeated 3-5 times, then a pause, or given over and over for up to 1 min or longer.

Behavior: Like most forest tinamous, shy, solitary, and terrestrial and usually only encountered accidentally. Walks away quietly to avoid detection. Rarely flies unless startled. Feeds on fallen seeds and fruit and some animal matter. Nest a slight leafy depression on gd., usually between buttress roots of large tree; up to 7 (usually 2-3) turquoise eggs; Jan-Jun breeding in Panama788.

Status and habitat: Uncommon and infreq. seen resident on floor of humid and wet montane forest (cloud forest), esp. near ravines and other areas of dense second growth.

Range: 1300-2500m (once to 1000m in Distr. Federal?). Sierra de Perija, Zulia; Andes of Tachira, s Merida, n Trujillo, and Lara (n to Cubiro); Coastal Cordillera in n Carabobo, Aragua, and Distr. Federal (bonapartei). Costa Rica and w Panama; Colombia s in Andes to Peru.

Source: Avibirds

Source: Juan José Arango

Source: Kristian Svensson

White-throated Tinamou (Tinamus guttatus)

White-throated Tinamou

Tinamus guttatus Gallineta Chica

Identification: 13.5" (34cm). 600g. Eyes brown; legs dull greenish. Med.-sized tinamou with spotted rear-parts. Crown sooty black, sides of head and neck cinnamon buff flecked black; back, wings, and tail dark brown thickly dotted buff to whitish and coarsely and inconspic. barred black; throat white, chest buffy brown turning buffy white on lower underparts; thighs and flanks barred dusky (often faint), under tail coverts dull rufous.

Sim. species: Looks like a small version of Great Tinamou with conspic. pale spotting on rearparts. Contrasting cap, throat, and spotting are the marks.

See Undulated, Variegated, Gray-legged, and Barred tinamous.

Voice: Song at San Carlos de Rfo Negro a slow, mournful, 2-noted whistle, whuuuUUU, uuuuuuaaaa (ca. 3.5 sec), 1st note stronger at end and barely separated from 2d; song of 2d bird (O?) sim. but higher pitched, a single, long whistle, weaker or with faint quaver in middle (suggests 2 notes) and last note rising slightly at end (C. Parrish recording).


Behavior: Sim. to others of genus. Four BC birds, late Mar-late Apr, Cerro Yapacana185.

Status and habitat: Floor of mature, humid lowland forest. Judging from no. of specimens in Coleccion Phelps (8 near San Fernando de Atabapo), at least locally fairly common.

Range: To 200m. W half of Amazonas from Rfo Si-papo and Cerro Yapacana s to Rfo Negro and Cerro de la Neblina. Se Colombia to n Bolivia and Amaz. Brazil.

Source:  Simon Valdez

Source: Smithsonian Wild

Source: Smithsonian Wild

Great Tinamou (Tinamus major)

Great Tinamou

Tinamus major Gallina de Monte

Identification: 18" (46cm). 1.1kg. Large and brownish. Eyes large and dark brown; legs dark gray to dark bluish gray. Crown and short bushy crest on rearcrown dark rufous brown, throat white, sides of head and foreneck cinnamon rufous flecked buff (imparts a blond or pale look to head); head and neck otherwise unmarked; rest of upperparts brown varying from virtually unbarred to occas. rather heavily barred dusky; chest grayish brown, rest of underparts buff (light to dark), flanks and thighs with variable amt. of blackish barring; under tail coverts cinnamon rufous mottled dusky. Or sides of head and neck brighter rufous (zuliensis). Imm.: sim. but above unmarked, below with a few buff spots.

Sim. species: Larger than other lowland tinamous. Plumage variable but always brownish to buffy brown, usually with no markings on neck and little or no barring above. In foothills and mts. see Gray and Highland tinamous; in Amazonas cf. smaller White-throated Tinamou.

Voice: Song variable but always loud, very rich, and resonant (cf. Little Tinamou); typically 1-2 short tremulous whistles, then a longer one that rises slightly, then falls, the whole phrase repeated once or up to 6 times, e.g., wuu, wuu wooouuuuuuuooo, wuuu wuuuuuuuoo, wuuu wooouuuuuuuooo, etc., or a ser. of long tremulous whistles, each fractionally higher than the preceding. Song seems to grow louder and more tremulous and urgent as it continues. Most often hd. at dusk, the hauntingly beautiful song is one of the most memorable of lowland rainforest. Caution: Almost all song patterns are closely duplicated by Little Tinamou, but Little’s songs are weaker, flatter, and lack full-bodied resonance. Behavior: A shy, terrestrial, and solitary bird, usually encountered accidentally. Avoids detection by quietly walking away, but if surprised may rise with a roar, a whistling sound, and a rush of wings, accelerating away, sometimes noisily crashing into vegetation before landing a short distance away. Wary when hunted, but where unmolested may become habituated to humans. Roosts on branch or vine above gd. Nest a leafy depression on gd. between tree buttresses; up to 7 large, porcelainlike, turquoise eggs.

Status and habitat: Fairly common resident (by voice) in humid lowland and lower montane forest. Generally characteristic of mature, relatively undisturbed forest. Now rare and local where hunted for food.

Range: To ca. 200m n of Orinoco; to 1500m s of Orinoco. E base of Sierra de Perija (Rfos Aricuaisa, Negro, and Catatumbo), Zulia, e to w base of Andes in Merida; e base of Andes; n cordilleras from Tucu-cas, Falcon to Cerro Negro, se Miranda; ne Monagas (Caripito); generally in Amazonas; nw Bolivar e to lower and mid. Rfo Caura at Salta Para (zuliensis); Delta Amacuro and rest of Bolivar (major). Se Mexico to n Bolivia, Amaz. Brazil, and the Guianas.

Source: Birds Venezuela Steven L. Hilty

Source: Peter Lindenburg

Source: Kusmin&Api

Source: Jens

Gray Tinamou (Tinamus tao)

Gray Tinamou

Tinamus tao Gallina Azul

Identification: 18" (46cm). 2kg. Large and grayish. Eyes dark brown; legs dull bluish gray. Crown and hindneck dark sooty brown, crown finely spotted white; white-dotted line from eyes down sides of neck; otherwise above olive gray obscurely etched black, the barring sometimes a little more evident on wings, lower back, and rump; upper throat white, lower throat tinged buff, chest gray turning buffy or brownish gray on breast and pale rufous on under tail coverts; flanks olive gray vermiculated black. 9: above more olive, barring more prom., underparts grayer.

Or sim. but both sexes grayer above (less olive), barring more distinct, below more extensively olive gray (septentrionalis).

Sim. species: Looks gray above and below (esp. sep-tentrionalis). From Great or Highland tinamous by gray appearance, neck stripe, contrasting under tail coverts, and near absence of barring.

Voice: At Rancho Grande, at dawn and dusk, a penetrating, uninflected whistle, whuuuu, at well-spaced intervals (P. Schwartz recording).

Behavior: Sim. to others of genus (see Great Tina-mou). Nest a leafy depression at base of tree or to 1m up in rotten stump or palm base; 2-9 shiny greenish blue eggs; Jun nest (1500m), Rancho Grande, Aragua.

Status and habitat: Uncommon and local resident in humid forest in hilly lowland and lower montane els. There are more recs. from PN Henri Pittier and PN Guatopo than elsewhere.

Range: 50-1900m. Sierra de Perija (Alto de Cedro southward); w slope of Andes in Merida (La Azulita) and nw Lara, e slope in Tachira, Apure, nw Barinas (hd.—P. Boesman), and Lara (Cabudare; Cerro El Cogollal); hd. at Cerro Mision, se Falcon60; mts. of Yaracuy, Coastal Cordillera in Carabobo, Aragua, and Distr. Federal e to Pto. La Cruz (larensis); Interior Cordillera in s Miranda (sight, PN Guatopo—

C. Parrish), Sucre (Cumana and Paria Pen.), and n Monagas on Cerro Negro (septentrionalis). Guyana; mts. of Colombia s to Bolivia and locally in Amaz. Brazil and e Bolivia.

Source: Birds Venezuela Steven L. Hilty

Source: DM Pura Vida

Source: Liz Lauer