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Cinereous Tinamou | Crypturellus cinereus
Grauwe tinamoe | Tinamú cinéreo | Inhambu-preto
The Cinereous Tinamou is a medium-sized, almost uniformly dark Crypturellus of the Amazonian lowlands. It is found mainly in humid and flooded forest along rivers and lakes. Its single, pure whistle, repeated always at the same pitch, is one of the regular sounds of várzea.
Voice
A single, pure, level whistle without tremolo, repeated at intervals of a few seconds for long periods, both by day and at dusk.
Recording: JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
29–32 cm, with a small head and a rounded, almost tailless body. The plumage is uniform dark smoky grey to grey-brown, without barring or spots; the crown is slightly browner and the throat slightly paler grey. The underparts are barely paler than the upperparts. The bill is dark and the legs are dull grey to olive-grey. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Little Tinamou Crypturellus soui is much smaller, with a greyer head, a paler throat and warmer, more rufous-brown underparts. Undulated Tinamou Crypturellus undulatus is paler grey-brown, finely vermiculated above, with a whitish throat and a very different song of three or four notes. Brown Tinamou Crypturellus obsoletus has more rufous-brown underparts with barred flanks and lives higher on the Andean slopes. Black Tinamou Tinamus osgoodi is much larger and lives in foothill forest.
Habitat
Flooded forest (várzea and igapó), swamp forest with aguaje palms, forest along rivers and lakes, also secondary forest and forest edge; in addition in terra firme forest, mainly in dense undergrowth. Mostly below 500 m, locally up to about 900 m. It walks over the forest floor searching for fruit, seeds and small invertebrates. The nest is on the ground in dense vegetation.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Colombia in the eastern lowlands east of the Andes. In Ecuador in the Amazonian lowlands. In Peru in the Amazonian lowlands throughout the east of the country. In Bolivia in the north, in Pando, Beni and northern La Paz. Absent west of the Andes and from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in southern Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazilian Amazonia.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Listen along riverbanks and oxbow lakes for the repeated, level whistle; birds also call in the middle of the day. A quiet boat trip along forested banks or a trail through várzea forest in the early morning gives the best chance of a bird on the ground.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species is hunted, but tolerates secondary forest and forest edge and is still common over large parts of the Amazonian lowlands.
Scientific name
Crypturellus cinereus | (Gmelin, 1789)
Gmelin described the species in 1789 as Tetrao cinereus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Crypturellus was introduced in 1914 by Brabourne, WWK-H & Chubb. The genus name comes from Greek kruptos, 'hidden', and oura, 'tail', with the Latin diminutive -ellus: 'little hidden tail'. The species name comes from Latin cinereus, 'ash-grey'. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cayenne, French Guiana.