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Grey-legged Tinamou | Crypturellus duidae
Grijspoottinamoe | Tinamú patigrís | Inhambu-de-perna-cinza
The Grey-legged Tinamou is a rufous-brown tinamou of the upper Orinoco basin and north-western Amazonia; in the guide area it occurs only in eastern Colombia. It closely resembles Red-legged Tinamou but has grey legs. It lives mainly in low forest on white sand.
Voice
A clear, plaintive whistle, repeated at intervals, mainly in the early morning and at dusk.
Recording: GABRIEL LEITE — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
28–31 cm, with a small head, a thin neck and almost no tail. The head and neck are rufous, the throat paler, the upperparts dark brown; the female has black barring on the wings and lower back. The breast is warm rufous, grading into a paler, creamy belly; the flanks are barred dark. The legs are grey.
Confusion species
Red-legged Tinamou Crypturellus erythropus has pink to red legs and a greyer breast. Variegated Tinamou Crypturellus variegatus has a black cap, a white throat and a strongly barred back. Little Tinamou Crypturellus soui is smaller and unbarred. Barred Tinamou Crypturellus casiquiare is smaller, with a rufous head and a sharply black-and-buff barred back.
Habitat
Low, open forest and scrubby woodland on white sand, forest edges and the transition from forest to savanna, in the lowlands up to about 500 m. It walks on the ground searching for seeds, fruit and invertebrates. Little is known of its breeding; as in related species, the male probably incubates the eggs.
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, from the southern Llanos to north-western Amazonia. Absent from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in southern Venezuela and possibly in adjacent north-western Brazil.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Listen in the early morning in low forest on sandy soil in eastern Colombia for the whistles. The bird usually stays under cover of the undergrowth.
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC). The range is remote and little disturbed; the species is hunted locally. Its habits and numbers are poorly studied.
Scientific name
Crypturellus duidae | Zimmer, 1938
Zimmer described the species in 1938 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. 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 refers to Cerro Duida in southern Venezuela. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cerro Duida, Amazonas, Venezuela.