Ornate Tinamou (Nothoprocta ornata)

Identification & Behavior: ~35 cm (13.7 in). The Ornate Tinamou is distinguished by having a speckled neck, sides of the head, and gray unspeckled breast. The gray in the breast grades to buff and rufous in the lower belly. Some forms (branickii) show rufous secondary flight feathers. It favors grasslands with scattered bushes. It is similar to the Andean Tinamou, but is distinguished by larger size, having a speckled neck and sides of the head, gray unmarked breast, and by ranging at higher elevations. Also, see Taczanowski’s Tinamou and Curve-billed Tinamou.

Status: The Ornate Tinamou is uncommon in relatively dry grasslands at an elevation ranging between 3300-4400 m. It also occurs in Bo and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Perdiz Cordillerana.

Sub-species: Ornate Tinamou (Nothoprocta ornata branickii), Taczanowski 1875.
(Nothoprocta ornata ornata), G. R. Gray 1867.

Meaning of Name: Nothoprocta: Gr. Nothos= false, spurious and proktos= the tail. In reference to a short tail. ornata: L. ornate, ornatus= ornate, adorned, with adornments.

See more of the Family Tinamidae