Dwarf Tinamou Taoniscus nanus Scientific name definitions

The sole member of the genus Taoniscus, the Dwarf Tinamou is now very rare, being categorized as Vulnerable by BirdLife International, on account of the species’ preferred habitat—native grassland, especially campo sujo—having been lost at a catastrophic rate to agricultural development in recent decades. This tinamou is endemic to the Cerrado biome, where it is effectively confined to south-east and central Brazil; although three old specimens are available from Paraguay and Argentina, the Dwarf Tinamou has not been recorded in either country recently. This is a plump but tiny and short-legged tinamou, with mainly pale buffy-brown plumage. The female is more boldly marked and darker than the male, with a whiter belly. Among similar species, the Lesser Nothura (Nothura minor) is larger, with a longer neck, and more heavily barred plumage. Better knowledge of the Dwarf Tinamou’s voice, which is a high-pitched and nasal, cricket-like trill followed by several peet notes, might lead to more records of the species becoming available, despite its unquestioned rarity.

14·5–16 cm; c. 43 g. Smallest of the tinamous; looks very barred  , ranging from reddish-brown to ochraceous grey‑brown, or a mix of both, in general coloration. Male has crown and upperpart feathers with intricate, variegated pattern of dull brownish-buff to reddish-brown with a black blotch or broad bar framed by narrow wavy whitish transversal line and similar narrow black lines and broader buff bars, usually with few and narrow buff stripes (so that it does not look streaked above), feathers of rump and uppertail-coverts considerably elongated; upperwing-coverts similar, but more barred and spotted dark brown and buff, with no streaks, remiges plain dusky brownish, at most with lightly mottled outer webs of secondaries; face and side of head dull buff to ochre, some paler or whitish-buff colour around eye, with tiny dark dots, the dark markings sometimes dense and noticeable on ear-coverts; side of neck similar to face, but with dense black mottling increasing in size and becoming rather short bars or scales on feather tips towards chest; chin and throat whitish, foreneck to chest similar to side of neck, profusely mottled black but with whitish-buff spots admixed, the markings sometimes chevron-like, and arranged in a rather wavy-barred pattern, underparts being similar but becoming more decidedly barred black, whitish-buff and reddish-ochre to dull brownish on sides and flanks, with central abdomen light buff; iris dull yellowish; bill blackish or dark brownish-grey above, cutting edges and most of lower mandible pale horn; legs pink to yellow-orange. Readily distinguished from other tinamous, even Nothura minor, by tiny size, and the shorter neck and generally barred pattern prevent confusion with all of the smallest Nothura species. Female is similar to male, but said to be more boldly marked, with belly whiter. Immature seems to be very like adult in pattern, iris perhaps darker, grey.

Locally in C & SE Brazil (extreme SE Mato Grosso, and Goiás and Minas Gerais S to São Paulo); old isolated records from SC Paraguay (Misiones) and NE Argentina (Chaco/Formosa).

Secondary forest, savanna and cerrado; more common in pastures with short grass and scattered bushes less than 2 m tall than in cerrado. Sometimes found near cities and in burnt fields.

Presumably sedentary.

Omnivorous. Diet includes various arthropods, e.g. termites (Isoptera), and seeds, e.g. of grasses. Spends much time looking for small arthropods in among the vegetation; like Rhynchotus rufescens, digs termites of the species Procornitermes araujoi out of their mounds. Forages solitarily and in pairs.

High-pitched nasal trill  , like that of a cricket (Orthoptera), followed by c. 6–10 “peet” notes. Also “pii pu or “pii iii, puu”, last note lower, possibly when anxious.

Little known. Season Sept–Oct. Downy chicks similar to those of Nothura. In captivity, built a small spherical nest of grass and small leaves, opening at side; clutch 3 eggs, slate-coloured; embryos died after 15 days in artificial incubator. (1 Silveira, L. F. and Silveira, V. J. da. (1998). The biology of Dwarf Tinamou Taoniscus nanus, with notes on its breeding in captivity. Cotinga. 9: 42-46. Close )

ENDANGERED. Status difficult to determine; a small bird and very difficult to see, even on paths or tracks and on burnt areas; apparently rare to uncommon and local. Thought to be in serious decline because of rapid rates of habitat loss. Currently found only in Cerrado region of EC & E Brazil in Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo; formerly extended S to Paraná, but no recent records from there. Type specimen collected is from Misiones, in extreme S Paraguay, and two specimens from N Argentina (one in 1901; the other, possibly in same year, from near R Bermejo in either Chaco or Formosa), but no further records known from either country. In Brazil, where some historical reports of small flocks, the few recent records are from scattered localities, and most were of singletons or pairs. Outside breeding season, up to four individuals calling within c. 2 ha (1 Silveira, L. F. and Silveira, V. J. da. (1998). The biology of Dwarf Tinamou Taoniscus nanus, with notes on its breeding in captivity. Cotinga. 9: 42-46. Close ). Formerly common in Minas Gerais, but no recent records; also disappearing from São Paulo state as a result of agricultural development and overpopulation. In 2008, recorded for first time at Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins (in SE Tocantins), the second largest protected area (c. 716,000 ha) in the Cerrado region, and farther N than previously known (2 Rego, M. A., L. F. Silveira, V. Q. Piacentini, F. Schunck, E. Machado, R. T. Pinheiro, and E. Reis (2011). As aves da Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins, Centro do Brasil. Biota Neotropica 11(1):283–297. Close ). Cerrado grasslands are suffering rapid destruction through mechanized agriculture, intensive cattle-ranching and afforestation, coupled with invasive grasses, excessive use of pesticides and annual burning; exotic plantations, such as pines (Pinus) and eucalypts (Eucalyptus), as well as sugar cane and soybeans, have proliferated. By mid-1990s, two-thirds of the Cerrado region had already been significantly or moderately altered, most of the destruction having taken place since 1950 (3 Cavalcanti, R. B. (1999). Bird species richness and conservation in the Cerrado region of central Brazil. In Ecology and Conservation of Grassland Birds of the Western Hemisphere. Studies in Avian Biology 19 (P. D. Vickery and J. R. Herkert, Editors), Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CA, USA. pp. 244–249. Close ). Burning of pastures causes problems, as this species can cover no more than c. 50 m in a single flight and is presumably, therefore, vulnerable to fast-moving fires. For similar reasons, it is unlikely to disperse between isolated habitat fragments. Global population now thought to number fewer than 15,000 individuals and to be rapidly declining BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Taoniscus nanus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/08/2014. . Aerial predators such as White‑tailed Hawk (Geranoaetus albicaudatus) and Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis), which are attracted to grass fires, prey on animals fleeing from the flames; present species, with its poor capacity for flight, frequently becomes groggy through smoke inhalation and is easily captured. In addition to Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins, where at least three individuals recently recorded, this species occurs in three protected areas: Serra da Canastra National Park, Itapetininga Experimental Station and the IBGE Roncador Biological Reserve.