Little tinamou

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Little tinamou (Crypturellus soui)

The little tinamou is a small ground-dwelling bird found in tropical forests of Central and South America and on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It belongs to the tinamou family and, like other tinamous, can fly, though it usually runs.

Description
- Size: about 21.5 to 24 cm long.
- Weight: males around 207 g; females 174–238 g (females are typically larger).
- Plumage: plain, unbarred sooty-brown with a grey head and whitish foreneck. Underparts are cinnamon buff; females are usually lighter and more brightly colored than males. Legs can be grey, olive, or yellow. Both sexes are almost tailless.

Behavior
- They are shy and secretive, often detected by sound rather than sight.
- Calls: a soft descending whinny heard from both sexes.
- Diet: seeds, berries, and some insects.
- Flight: capable of flying, but they prefer to run.
- Territory: highly territorial and will defend their area from intruders.

Distribution and habitat
- Habitat: tropical lowland forests, river-edge forests, lowland evergreen forests, secondary forests, and shrublands up to about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). They also do well in cleared forests, plantations, and farmland.
- Range: Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad.

Breeding
- Breeding season: roughly May to October.
- Nesting: eggs are laid on a forest floor depression; the female courts, while the male incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks.
- Clutch: usually two glossy dark-purple eggs (up to three observed).
- Young: precocial and able to move almost immediately; can run soon after hatching and typically fly within 3–4 weeks.
- Laying age: begins around one year old.

Conservation
- IUCN status: Least Concern.
- Range: large, ~9.5 million square kilometers (about 3.7 million square miles). The species is common and adaptable to various habitats, including human-modified landscapes.

Subspecies
- There are 14 recognized subspecies, differing mainly in plumage coloration and geographic distribution.