Black-capped Tinamou
Encyclopedia
The Black-capped Tinamou, Crypturellus atrocapillus, is a type of Tinamou
Tinamou
The tinamous are a family comprising 47 species of birds found in Central and South America. One of the most ancient living groups of bird, they are related to the ratites. Generally ground dwelling, they are found in a range of habitats....

 commonly found in the moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions.

Taxonomy

All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also Ratite
Ratite
A ratite is any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin, most of them now extinct. Unlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum—hence the name from the Latin ratis...

s. 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 Black-capped Tinamou has two subspecies as follows:
  • C. a. atrocapillus, nominate race, occurs in the lowlands of southeastern Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

    .
  • C. a. garleppi in the lowlands of northern Bolivia
    Bolivia
    Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

    .

Etymology

Crypturellus is formed from three Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 or Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 words. kruptos meaning covered or hidden, oura meaning tail, and ellus meaning diminutive. Therefore Crypturellus means small hidden tail.

Description

The Black-capped Tinamou is approximately 28 to 30 cm (11 to 11.8 in) in length. Its upper-parts are brown, mottled and barred blackish, throat and neck are rufescent, breast is dark grey, and the remainder of underparts are cinnamon to buff. Its cap is blackish and legs could be pale red or bright red. The females are more heavily barred above.

Behavior

Like other Tinamous, the Black-capped eats fruit off the ground or low-lying bushes. They also eat small amounts of invertebrates, flower buds, tender leaves, seeds, and roots. The male incubates the eggs which may come from as many as 4 different females, and then will raise them until they are ready to be on their own, usually 2–3 weeks. The nest is located on the ground in dense brush or between raised root buttresses.

Range and habitat

It is found in moist forest lowlands in subtropical and tropical regions up to 900 m (2,952.8 ft) altitude. This species is native to southeastern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and northern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

.

Conservation

It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 120000 km² (46,332.3 sq mi).. It is rated as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...

 status by the IUCN
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