White-throated tinamou

Tinamus guttatus

Photo by Ulrich Schmid (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
white-throated tinamou (en); inhambu-galinha (pt); tinamou à gorge blanche (fr); tinamú moteado (es); weißkehltinamu (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Tinamiformes
Family Tinamidae

Range:
This species is found from south-eastern Colombia, through eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru, and into northern Bolivia and into Brazil along the Amazon river basin from Amazonas and Rondônia east to Pará and Maranhão.

Size:
These birds are 32-36 cm long. The males are smaller than females, weighing 620-650 g while females weigh 680-800 g.

Habitat:
The white-throated tinamou is found in primary tropical rainforests, mainly in terra firme areas from sea level up to an altitude of 500 m.

Diet:
They feed mainly on seeds, also taking fruits and some invertebrates such as ants.

Breeding:
White-throated tinamous breed in March-October. The female lays 4-6 bright turquoise eggs on the ground. There is no information regarding the incubation and fledging periods.

Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common. However, it is it threatened by accelerating deforestation in Amazonia as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production, facilitated by expansion of the road network, and a model of Amazonian deforestation predicts 17-23% of suitable habitat will be lost over the next 2 decades. Given its susceptibility to hunting and trapping, the white-throated tinamou is suspected to decline by 25-30% in the near future.