Highland Tinamou (Nothocercus bonapartei)

Identification & Behavior: ~37 cm (14.5 in). The Highland Tinamou has a dusky head and neck with a tawny throat. The upperparts are vermiculated with dusky and light brown bars on the wings and rump. The Underparts are a rich brown with finely dusky bar in the thigh and vent areas. It overlaps with the Tawny-breasted Tinamou only on the north and west side of the Marañon Valley. The Highland Tinamou is found at lower elevations and has a dusky head with a tawny throat versus a rufous head and white throat in the Tawny-breasted Tinamou.

Status: The Highland Tinamou is rare and restricted extreme northern Peru at an elevation ranging from 1800 to 2100 m. It is only found on the north and west side of the Marañon Valley. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Perdiz Montesa.

Sub-species: Highland Tinamou (Nothocercus bonapartei plumbeiceps) Lönnberg and Rendahl, 1922.

Meaning of Name: Nothocercus: Gr. Nothos= false, spurious; kerkos= the tail. False tail or hidden tail. bonapartei: After Charles Lucien Laurent prince of Bonaparte. French ornithologist, author, and collector.

See more of the Family Tinamidae