Crypturellus boucardi

Geographic Range

Slaty-breasted tinamous are native to the Neotropical region. There are found in the same range year round, from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua (Lancaster, 1964a)

• Biogeographic Regions
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Slaty-breasted tinamous are most often found in tall, wet forests with canopies ranging from 10 to 25 meters in height and seem to require at least some protective undergrowth, though the amount can range from very thick to quite sparse (Lancaster, 1964a). Slaty-breasted tinamous can also be found in areas of degraded farm-land or regenerating plantations and are often found in damp areas around forest edges.

• Habitat Regions
• tropical tropical
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland
• forest forest
• rainforest rainforest
• scrub forest scrub forest
• mountains mountains

• Other Habitat Features
• agricultural agricultural

Physical Description

The breast feathers are a dark slaty gray, the head is blackish and the throat is white. The back can range between black and chestnut. The legs are pink to bright red. Females of this species have barring on their wings.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes colored or patterned differently

Reproduction

Males establish a territory within their home range and attract two to four females. After mating, the females lay the eggs in a nest at the base of a tree or in dense vegetation and leave to find another mate. The male incubates the eggs alone.

• Mating System
• polyandrous polyandrous
• polygynandrous (promiscuous) polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Males begin calling to establish territory in early March and mating occurs from then until early May (some males may nest as early as January and as late as June). Females may lay 2-3 eggs and males may mate with 2-4 females. Males may nest multiple times during a season and females mate with other males after leaving previous mates. Eggs are laid on the ground in thick vegetation or at the base of a large tree (most often in tree buttresses). Nests of 4-12 eggs are incubated by the male once the females leave. Males are very attentive to the eggs, staying with them for almost two days at a time sometimes and only leaving briefly to forage. Eggs hatch after about 16 days of incubation, and the male calls the chicks out of the nest less than a day later. Males abandon the chicks after several days, leaving them to fend for themselves.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• oviparous oviparous

Female slaty-breasted tinamous leave males shortly after the eggs are laid, leaving incubation up to the males. Males protect nests from predators and attempt to kick leaves on to the eggs to hide them when leaving to forage. Males call the young off the nest after hatching, then abandon them a few days later.

• Parental Investment
• precocial precocial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • protecting
    • male

Lifespan/Longevity

There is no available information on slaty-breasted tinamou longevity.

Behavior

Slaty-breasted tinamous are solitary animals, and even when they meet with others, do not interact (unless they are both males and one is defending territory). Slaty-breasted tinamous feed in a manner similar to domestic fowl; moving erratically along the forest floor while foraging for seeds, fruits, ants, termites, and occasionally small lizards or frogs. Unlike domestic fowl however, tinamous do not use their feet to scratch the ground or move debris to search for food, the instead toss leaves and twigs with their beak (Lancaster, 1964a).

When alarmed, slaty-breasted tinamous may freeze, then try to walk away stealthily. If the predator is approaching the tinamou, it may run in a zig-zag pattern, utilizing as much cover as possible. It is only when they are in immediate danger (or surprised) and there are no other options that they take to the air with a loud burst of wingbeats, flying rather clumsily for short distances to escape (Lancaster, 1964a).

• Key Behaviors
• cursorial
• terricolous
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary
• territorial territorial

Home Range

Males have home ranges that are much larger than the area they actively defend (territory) and home ranges often overlap with those of other males. Smaller territories within the home range are defended and used for courtship with females. Males defend territory with calling-duels, or if a rival male has entered another male’s territory, it may be attacked and chased by the defending male for five to ten yards.

Communication and Perception

Males call more often to establish and defend territory and to attract mates. Females join in duets with males during courtship. A mated male and its females will use recognition calls to communicate within the male’s territory. Males may also use recognition calls when calling to hatchlings before abandoning them (Lancaster, 1964b). Female calls are somewhat more nasal and have a whining quality. Calling seems to occur most often in the morning and evening (Lancaster 1964a). The slaty-breasted tinamou's call is often characterized as a low ah-oowah sound (Grzimek, Schlaeger and Olendorf, 2005).

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• acoustic acoustic

• Other Communication Modes
• duets duets

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Slaty-breasted tinamous feed on fruits and seeds, as well as insects such as ants and termites. Frogs and lizards may be consumed on occasion. Foraging behavior is similar to that seen in domestic fowl, involving erratic movements and pecking the ground for seeds, fruits, or insects.

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• amphibians
• reptiles
• insects

• Plant Foods
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

Predation

The eggs of slaty-breasted tinamous may be preyed upon by snakes or coatis, adults may be preyed upon by ocelots, jaguars, foxes, snakes, and humans. Slaty-breasted tinamous freeze initially in response to a threat, then try to stealthily walk away. They will fly only in response to an imminent threat. Tinamous are cryptically colored.

• Anti-predator Adaptations
• cryptic cryptic

Ecosystem Roles

Slaty-breasted tinamous may be important in the dispersal of undigested seeds and seeds from consumed fruits.

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Slay-breasted tinamous are a game species and are hunted throughout their range.

• Positive Impacts
• food food

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known adverse effects of slaty-breasted tinamous on humans.

Conservation Status

Slaty-breasted tinamous have become rare in parts of their range where they are heavily hunted but are very common in other areas. They are listed on the IUCN Red List as a species of least concern.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Kenneth Falkenstein (author), Northern Michigan University, Alec R. Lindsay (editor, instructor), Northern Michigan University.

References

Grzimek, B., N. Schlaeger, D. Olendorf. 2005. "Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Slaty-breasted tinamou" (On-line). Accessed March 22, 2008 at http://www.answers.com/topic/slaty-breasted-tinamou .

Lancaster, D. 1964. Life History of the Boucard Tinamou in British Honduras. Part I: Distribution and. The Condor , Vol. 66, No. 3: 165-181.

Lancaster, D. 1964. Life History of the Boucard Tinamou in British Honduras. Part II: Breeding. The Condor , Vol. 66, No. 4: 253-276.