Berlepsch's Tinamou

About the Berlepsch's Tinamou

Berlepsch's tinamou (Crypturellus berlepschi) is a type of ground bird native to moist forest of El Chocó (western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador). Berlepsch's tinamou is a monotypic species. 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. Until the mid 20th century, this species was considered a sub-species of the cinereous tinamou, but due to its bill size, its ratio of toe and tarsus length and the fact that its plumage has conspicuous differences from that of the cinereous tinamou created enough of a question for the new species to be named.

Crypturellus is formed from three Latin or Greek words. kruptos meaning covered or hidden, oura meaning tail, and ellus meaning diminutive. Therefore, Crypturellus means small hidden tail. berlepschi comes from the Latin form of Berlepsch to commemorate the German ornithologist and collector Hans von Berlepsch.

Berlepsch's tinamou is a medium-sized bird... Wikipedia →