Taoniscus
| Dwarf tinamou | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| In upright "alert" posture | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Tinamiformes |
| Family: | Tinamidae |
| Subfamily: | Nothurinae |
| Genus: |
Taoniscus Gloger, 1842 |
| Species: | T. nanus |
| Binomial name | |
|
Taoniscus nanus (Temminck, 1815) |
|
The dwarf tinamou (Taoniscus nanus) also known as the least tinamou, is a small, superficially partridge-like bird with short tail and wings.
It is approximately 16 cm (6.3 in) long. It is greyish-brown with a pale throat, boldly patterned neck and upper parts, and it has brown-barred buff underparts and a blackish crown. Some individuals are significantly darker and greyer than others, but it remains unclear if these plumage variations are morphs or differences between the sexes. The iris and legs are dull yellowish. It resembles a small dumpy nothura, but is more easily confused with the ocellated crake.
Its voice consists of high-pitched cricket-like trills followed by peet notes.
All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. Unlike other ratites, tinamous can fly, although in general, they are not strong fliers. All ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, and tinamous are the closest living relative of these birds. The dwarf tinamou is the only member of the genus Taoniscus and is a monotypic species.
The dwarf tinamou is found in the arid scrub grasslands, around 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation, restricted to the Cerrado region of interior southeastern Brazil in Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and formerly Paraná. Specimens were also known from Paraguay (Misiones) and Argentina (the Río Bermejo in either Chaco or Formosa), but all recent records are from Brazil. It is, however, highly inconspicuous and easily overlooked.
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Wikipedia