Crypturellus

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Crypturellus
Crypturellus tataupa.JPG
Tataupa tinamou
(Crypturellus tataupa)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Tinamiformes
Family: Tinamidae
Subfamily: Tinaminae
Genus: Crypturellus
Brabourne & Chubb, C, 1914
Type species
Tinamus tataupa (Tataupa tinamou)
Temminck, 1815
Species

Crypturellus reai Chandler 2012
Crypturellus atrocapillus
Black-capped tinamou
Crypturellus bartletti
Bartlett's tinamou
Crypturellus berlepschi
Berlepsch's tinamou
Crypturellus boucardi
Slaty-breasted tinamou
Crypturellus brevirostris
Rusty tinamou
Crypturellus casiquiare
Barred tinamou
Crypturellus cinereus
Cinereous tinamou
Crypturellus cinnamomeus
Thicket tinamou
Crypturellus duidae
Grey-legged tinamou
Crypturellus erythropus
Red-legged tinamou
Crypturellus kerriae
Choco tinamou
Crypturellus noctivagus
Yellow-legged tinamou
Crypturellus obsoletus
Brown tinamou
Crypturellus parvirostris
Small-billed tinamou
Crypturellus ptaritepui
Tepui tinamou
Crypturellus soui
Little tinamou
Crypturellus strigulosus
Brazilian tinamou
Crypturellus tataupa
Tataupa tinamou
Crypturellus transfasciatus
Pale-browed tinamou
Crypturellus undulatus
Undulated tinamou
Crypturellus variegatus
Variegated tinamou

Contents

Crypturellus is a genus of tinamous containing mostly forest species. However, there are the odd few that are grassland or steppe tinamous. The genus contains 21 species.

Taxonomy

The genus Crypturellus was introduced in 1914 by the British ornithologists Baron Brabourne and Charles Chubb with the Tataupa tinamou as the type species. [1] [2] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek κρυπτός (kruptós) meaning "hidden" with οὐρά (oura) meaning "tail". The -ellus is a diminutive so that the name means "small hidden tail". [3]

Description

Crypturellus members, like other tinamous, have a cryptic color scheme dominated by browns, buffs, yellows, and greys. Unlike the rest of the family, these birds show some sexual dimorphism: the females are more heavily barred than the males and are also a bit brighter and larger.

Range

The majority of species occupy forests or rain forests, preferring lower elevations. They range from Uruguay to Mexico. However, the earliest known occurrence of the genus is a fossil humerus, described as Crypturellus reai , from the Early Miocene Santa Cruz Formation of Patagonia. [4]

Vocalization

Crypturellus are a very loud group of birds with melodious calls. They tend to use lower frequency when they call than other members of the Tinamou. Males and females have different calls and each species also has different calls. Normally each sex will have a long and a short phrase call. [5] The genus can be grouped into two partial groups based on the similarity of their calls. [6]

Some, like the slaty-breasted tinamou are quiet and hide during the middle of the day, choosing this time to take naps and conserve energy. The slaty-breasted tinamous also have a unique call amongst themselves, so much so that individual birds can be recognized by their calls. Most members of the genus have a variation in their calls, within the species, based on their geographical location. They also are known to use regular calling sites. [5]

Feeding

Similar to other forest tinamou, the members of this genus prefer to eat fleshy fruit; however like tinamous in general they are opportunistic and will eat a variety of foods including insects, which they have been known to leap 1 metre (39 in) high to obtain [5]

Breeding

Courtship technique for the members of Crypturellus consists of the male lowering his breast to the ground, stretching his neck forward and raising his posterior vertically. This will cause the male to appear larger and longer than normal, which not only impresses the female but also benefits the male in that it scares away competitors.

Females outnumber the males with some of the species, such as the variegated tinamou, having a 4:1 female-to-male ratio. They also only have a 2-egg clutch, which would explain why they are one of the species that have multiple clutches. [5]

Once copulation has taken place, the female will choose a nest site that is typically a depression covered with leaves next to a tree trunk, usually between a couple of buttresses. Members of the genus that are savanna style birds such as the small-billed tinamou will instead lay their eggs in a cavity near a clump of grass. The eggs are oval or elliptical on the smaller birds and near spherical in the larger birds, such as the undulated tinamou and the Brazilian tinamou. The colorings of the eggs are varied, but in general are brightly colored with no splotches or spots; the colors fade over time and usually will change to a less overt color midway through the incubation period. The predominant colors are chocolate or red wine with the eggs of yellow-legged tinamou, undulated tinamou, little tinamou, and red-legged tinamou using different color schemes. [6]

Clutch size can be upwards of 9-16 eggs, however these larger clutches are the products of multiple females. [6] The male will incubate and care for the young. Incubation takes about 16 days. If he dies, the female will take over. When the chicks cross cleared areas, they will run like the chicks of rails. Some members of the genus mature rapidly, like the slaty-breasted tinamou which can gain adult size (not weight) by 20 days. [5]

Relationships

Here is a cladogram of the relationship of species within Crypturellus, from an integumentary phylogenetic study on the Tinamidae, 2013. [7]

Crypturellus

Crypturellus transfasciatus

Crypturellus cinnamomeus

Crypturellus undulatus

Crypturellus erythropus

Crypturellus duidae

Crypturellus noctivagus

Crypturellus variegatus

Crypturellus casiquiare

Crypturellus brevirostris

Crypturellus bartletti

Crypturellus atrocapillus

Crypturellus kerriae

Crypturellus boucardi

Crypturellus strigulosus

Crypturellus cinereus

Crypturellus berlepschi

Crypturellus ptaritepui

Crypturellus soui

Crypturellus obsoletus

Crypturellus parvirostris

Crypturellus tataupa

Crypturellus parvirostris and Crypturellus tataupa are also the most derived species on a tree of the entire Paleognathae. [7]

Species

The genus contains 21 species: [8] [9]

There is also an extinct species:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinamou</span> Family of birds

Tinamous form an order of birds called Tinamiformes, comprising a single family called Tinamidae, divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" comes from the Galibi term for these birds, tinamu. Tinamous have traditionally been regarded as the sister group of the flightless ratites, but recent work places them well within the ratite radiation, implying basal ratites could fly. Tinamous first appear in the fossil record in the Miocene epoch. They are generally sedentary, ground-dwelling and, though not flightless, when possible avoid flight in favour of hiding or running away from danger. They are found in a variety of habitats, ranging from semi-arid alpine grasslands to tropical rainforests. The two subfamilies are broadly divided by habitat, with the Nothurinae referred to as steppe or open country tinamous, and the Tinaminae known as forest tinamous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little tinamou</span> Species of bird

The little tinamou is a species of tinamou. It is found in Central and South America, as well as on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown tinamou</span> Species of bird

The brown tinamou is a brownish ground bird found in humid lowland and montane forest in tropical and subtropical South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variegated tinamou</span> Species of bird

The variegated tinamou a type of tinamou commonly found in moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions of northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey tinamou</span> Species of bird

The grey tinamou is a type of ground bird native to South America. Four subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-legged tinamou</span> Species of bird

The red-legged tinamou or red-footed tinamou, is a ground-dwelling bird found in the tropics and lower subtropics of northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinereous tinamou</span> Species of bird

The cinereous tinamou, also known as brushland tinamou, is a type of ground bird found in swamp and lowland forests in northern South America. They have some localized names that have been used by the indigenous people such as in Amazonas where they are called inambu-pixuna, and in Pará, Brazil where they are called nambu-sujo. Also, throughout their range they are called inhambu-preto. Cinereous tinamous have been around for many centuries. They are part of the oldest families of the world today and have fossils discovered dating back tens of millions of years. Their quick reflexes play a role in their ability to survive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Undulated tinamou</span> Species of bird

The undulated tinamou is a species of ground bird found in a wide range of wooded habitats in eastern and northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian tinamou</span> Species of bird

The Brazilian tinamou is a type of tinamou found in tropical moist lowland forest in regions of Amazonian South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-legged tinamou</span> Species of bird

The grey-legged tinamou, alternatively, the gray-legged tinamou, is a small ground-dwelling bird endemic to the neotropics. It is a rarely seen bird due to its small size and discreet appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped tinamou</span> Species of bird

The black-capped tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in the moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thicket tinamou</span> Species of bird

The thicket tinamou or rufescent tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in moist forests in subtropical and tropical central Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slaty-breasted tinamou</span> Species of bird

The slaty-breasted tinamou or Boucard's tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in lowland moist forests of Mexico and Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusty tinamou</span> Species of bird

The rusty tinamou or short-billed tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in swamp forest in tropical regions of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred tinamou</span> Species of bird

The barred tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in lowland moist forest in subtropical and tropical regions of northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tataupa tinamou</span> Species of bird

The Tataupa tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in dry forest in subtropical and tropical regions in southeastern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brushland tinamou</span> Species of bird

The brushland tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in high-altitude dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of southern South America.

<i>Tinamus</i> Genus of birds

Tinamus is a genus of birds in the tinamou family Tinamidae. This genus comprises some of the larger members of this South American family.

<i>Nothocercus</i> Genus of birds

Nothocercus is a genus of birds in the tinamou family. This genus comprises three species of this South American family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinaminae</span> Subfamily of birds

Tinaminae, the forest tinamous, is one of two subfamilies of the family Tinamidae, the other being Nothurinae. Tinaminae has more species than the other subfamily, containing 29 species in three genera:

References

  1. Brabourne, W.; Chubb, C. (1914). "A key to the genus Crypturus with descriptions of some new forms". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 8th. 14 (82): 319–322 [322]. doi:10.1080/00222931408693579.
  2. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 20.
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 124. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. Chandler, Robert M. (2012). "A new species of Tinamou (Aves: Tinamiformes, Tinamidae) from the Early-Middle Miocene of Argentina" (PDF). PalArch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology. 9 (2): 1–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Cabot, J.; Carboneras, C.; Folch, A.; de Juanca, E.; Llimona, F.; Matheu, E. (1992). "Tinamiformes". In del Hoyo, J. (ed.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. I: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.
  6. 1 2 3 Sick, H. (1993). Birds in Brazil, a Natural History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  7. 1 2 Bertelli, Sara; Giannini, N.P. (2013). "On the use of intergumentary characters in bird phylogeny: the case of Tinamus osgoodi (Palaeognathae: Tinamidae) and plumage character coding" (PDF). Acta Zoológica Lilloana. 13 (1): 57–71.
  8. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Ratites: Ostriches to tinamous". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  9. Clements, J (2007)

Sources