Highland Tinamou (Nothocercus bonapartei) Information

Highland Tinamou

The Highland Tinamou or Bonaparte's Tinamou, Nothocercus bonapartei is a type of ground bird found in montane moist forest typically over 1,500 m (4,900 ft) altitude.

Taxonomy

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.

It has five subspecies:

•     N. b. frantzii occurs in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama.
•     N. b. bonapartei occurs in northwestern Venezuela and northern Colombia.
•     N. b. discrepans occurs in central Colombia (Tolima and Meta provinces).
•     N. b. intercedens occurs in the western Andes of Colombia.
•     N. b. plumbeiceps occurs in the Andes of eastern Ecuador and far northern Peru.

George Robert Gray identified the Highland Tinamou from a specimen from Aragua, Venezuela, in 1867.