Crypturellus is a genus of tinamous containing mostly forest species. However, there are the odd few that are grassland or steppe tinamous. There are 21 species of and a total of 67 taxa (species and sub-species).
Crypturellus is formed from the Greek words κρυπτός (kruptós), "covered" or "hidden", οὐρά (ourá), "tail", and -ellus, a Latin diminutive suffix. The genus name Crypturellus therefore means "small hidden tail".
Description
Crypturellus members, like other tinamous, have a cryptic color scheme dominated by browns, buffs, yellows, and greys. Unlike the rest of the family, these birds show some sexual dimorphism: the females are more heavily barred than the males and are also a bit brighter and larger.
Range
The majority of species occupy forests or rain forests, preferring lower elevations. They range from Uruguay to Mexico. However, the earliest known occurrence of the genus is a fossil humerus, described as Crypturellus reai, from the Early Miocene Santa Cruz Formation of Patagonia.
Vocalization
Crypturellus are a very loud group of birds with melodious calls. They tend to use lower frequency when they call than other members of the Tinamou. Males and females have different calls and each species also has different calls. Normally each sex will have a long and a short phrase call. The genus can be grouped into two partial groups based on the similarity of their calls.
Some, like the slaty-breasted tinamou are quiet and hide during the middle of the day, choosing this time to take naps and conserve energy. The slaty-breasted tinamous also have a unique call amongst themeselves, so much so that individual birds can be recognized by their calls. Most members of the genus have a variation in their calls, within the species, based on their geographical location. They also are known to use regular calling sites.
Feeding
Similar to other forest tinamou, the members of this genus prefer to eat fleshy fruit; however like tinamous in general they are opportunistic and will eat a variety of foods including insects, which they have been known to leap 1 metre (39 in) high to obtain
Breeding
Courtship technique for the members of Crypturellus consists of the male lowering his breast to the ground, stretching his neck forward and raising his posterior vertically. This will cause the male to appear larger and longer than normal, which not only impresses the female but also benefits the male in that it scares away competitors.
Females outnumber the males with some of the species, such as the variegated tinamou, having a 4:1 female-to-male ratio. They also only have a 2-egg clutch, which would explain why they are one of the species that have multiple clutches.
Once copulation has taken place, the female will choose a nest site that is typically a depression covered with leaves next to a tree trunk, usually between a couple of buttresses. Members of the genus that are savanna style birds such as the small-billed tinamou will instead lay their eggs in a cavity near a clump of grass. The eggs are oval or elliptical on the smaller birds and near spherical in the larger birds, such as the undulated tinamou and the Brazilian tinamou. The colorings of the eggs are varied, but in general are brightly colored with no splotches or spots; the colors fade over time and usually will change to a less overt color midway through the incubation period. The predominate colors are chocolate or red wine with the eggs of yellow-legged tinamou, undulated tinamou, little tinamou, and red-legged tinamou using different color schemes.
Clutch size can be upwards of 9-16 eggs, however these larger clutches are the products of multiple females. The male will incubate and care for the young. Incubation takes about 16 days. If he dies, the female will take over. When the chicks cross cleared areas, they will run like the chicks of rails. Some members of the genus mature rapidly, like the slaty-breasted tinamou which can gain adult size (not weight) by 20 days.
Species
†C. reai Chandler 2012
Berlepsch's tinamou, Crypturellus berlepschi located in coastal forests of northwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.
Crypturellus soui panamensis located in parts of Panama
Cinereous tinamou, Crypturellus cinereus located in southeastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, northeastern Brazil, and northern Bolivia
Tepui tinamou, Crypturellus ptaritepui located in the tepuis of southern Venezuela
Brown tinamou, Crypturellus obsoletus located in northern Venezuela west through Ecuador, Peru, northern and southern Brazil, extreme northeastern Argentina, eastern Bolivia, and Paraguay
Crypturellus obsoletus obsoletus located in southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina
Crypturellus obsoletus griseiventris located in central Brazil
Crypturellus obsoletus hypochraceus located in west central Brazil
Crypturellus obsoletus punensis located in central Bolivia and southeastern Peru
Crypturellus obsoletus traylori located in southeastern Peru
Crypturellus obsoletus ochraceiventris located in central Peru
Crypturellus obsoletus castaneus located in northern Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia
Crypturellus obsoletus knoxi located in northwestern Venezuela
Crypturellus obsoletus cerviniventris located in northern Venezuela
Undulated tinamou, Crypturellus undulatus located in northern and central South America except Suriname and French Guiana
Crypturellus undulatus undulatus located in southeasern Peru, eastern and northern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina
Crypturellus undulatus manapiare located in southern Venezuela
Crypturellus undulatus simplex located in southwestern Guyana and northern Brazil
Crypturellus undulatus adspersus located in southern Brazil
Crypturellus undulatus yapura located in eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northwestern Brazil
Crypturellus undulatus vermiculatus located in eastern Brazil
Pale-browed tinamou, Crypturellus transfasciatus located in the coastal forests of Ecuador and extreme northwestern Peru
Brazilian tinamou, Crypturellus strigulosus located in central Brazil south of the Amazon River, northwestern Bolivia, and eastern Peru
Grey-legged tinamou, Crypturellus duidae located in the tropical forests of east central Colombia and southern Venezuela
Red-legged tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus located from northern Colombia east to French Guiana and south to northern Brazil and also Margarita Island
Crypturellus erythropus erythropus located in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and northeastern Brazil
Crypturellus erythropus cursitans located in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela
Crypturellus erythropus spencei located in northern Venezuela
Magdalena tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus saltuarius, (no longer considered separate species) located in northeastern Colombia
Santa Marta tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus idoneus, (no longer considered separate species) located in northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela
Colombian tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus columbianus, (no longer considered separate species) located in north central Colombia
Yellow-legged tinamou, Crypturellus noctivagus located in the lowlands of eastern Brazil
Crypturellus noctivagus noctivagus located in southeastern Brazil
Crypturellus noctivagus zabele located in northeastern Brazil
Black-capped tinamou, Crypturellus atrocapillus located in the lowlands of southeastern Peru and northern Bolivia
Crypturellus atrocapillus atrocapillus located in southeastern Peru
Crypturellus atrocapillus garleppi located in northern Bolivia
Thicket tinamou, Crypturellus cinnamomeus located from northwestern Costa Rica north to Puebla, Mexico, and all of the Atlantic coastal Mexico and Pacific coastal Mexico excluding Sonora, Mexico
Crypturellus cinnamomeus occidentalis located in western Mexico
Crypturellus cinnamomeus mexicanus located in northeastern Mexico
Crypturellus cinnamomeus sallaei located in southern Mexico
Crypturellus cinnamomeus goldmani located in southeastern Mexico, northern Belize, and northern Guatemala
Crypturellus cinnamomeus soconuscensis located in southwestern Mexico
Crypturellus cinnamomeus vicinior located in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and western Honduras
Crypturellus cinnamomeus delattrei located in western Nicaragua
Crypturellus cinnamomeus praepes located in northwestern Costa Rica
Slaty-breasted tinamou or Boucard's Tinamou, Crypturellus boucardi located in the gulf coastal region of Central America from southeastern Mexico to northeastern Honduras and southeastern Honduras to northern Costa Rica
Crypturellus boucardi boucardi western Nicaragua
Crypturellus boucardi costaricensis located in northwestern Costa Rica
Choco tinamou, Crypturellus kerriae located in the humid foothills of southeastern Panama to northwestern Colombia
Variegated tinamou, Crypturellus variegatus located in northern Bolivia, Amazonian Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and Colombia
Rusty tinamou or Short-billed Tinamou, Crypturellus brevirostris located in French Guiana, eastern Peru, and northwestern and northeastern Brazil
Bartlett's tinamou, Crypturellus bartletti located in western Amazonian Brazil, northern Bolivia, and eastern Peru
Small-billed tinamou, Crypturellus parvirostris located from the Amazon Basin in Brazil to northeastern Argentina
Barred tinamou, Crypturellus casiquiare located in eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela
Tataupa tinamou, Crypturellus tataupa located in parts of Peru, northeastern Brazil, Paraguay, southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia, and northern Argentina
Crypturellus tataupa tataupa located in eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina
Crypturellus tataupa inops located in northwestern Peru and southern Ecuador
Crypturellus tataupa peruviana located in west central Peru
Crypturellus tataupa lepidotus located in northeastern Brazil