Crypturellus | |
---|---|
Tataupa tinamou (Crypturellus tataupa) | |
Scientific classification | |
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 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.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
Here is a cladogram of the relationship of species within Crypturellus, from an integumentary phylogenetic study on the Tinamidae, 2013. [7]
Crypturellus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Crypturellus parvirostris and Crypturellus tataupa are also the most derived species on a tree of the entire Paleognathae. [7]
The genus contains 21 species: [8] [9]
There is also an extinct species:
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.
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.
The brown tinamou is a brownish ground bird found in humid lowland and montane forest in tropical and subtropical South America.
The variegated tinamou a type of tinamou commonly found in moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions of northern South America.
The grey tinamou is a type of ground bird native to South America. Four subspecies are recognised.
The red-legged tinamou or red-footed tinamou, is a ground-dwelling bird found in the tropics and lower subtropics of northern South America.
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.
The undulated tinamou is a species of ground bird found in a wide range of wooded habitats in eastern and northern South America.
The Brazilian tinamou is a type of tinamou found in tropical moist lowland forest in regions of Amazonian South America.
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.
The black-capped tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in the moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions.
The thicket tinamou or rufescent tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in moist forests in subtropical and tropical central Mexico.
The slaty-breasted tinamou or Boucard's tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in lowland moist forests of Mexico and Central America.
The rusty tinamou or short-billed tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in swamp forest in tropical regions of South America.
The barred tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in lowland moist forest in subtropical and tropical regions of northern South America.
The Tataupa tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in dry forest in subtropical and tropical regions in southeastern South America.
The brushland tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in high-altitude dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of southern South America.
Tinamus is a genus of birds in the tinamou family Tinamidae. This genus comprises some of the larger members of this South American family.
Nothocercus is a genus of birds in the tinamou family. This genus comprises three species of this South American family.
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: