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Dwarf Tinamou

Taoniscus nanus

About

This small plump, short-legged tinamou is generally pale buffy-brown with some barring and streaking and with a dark centre of crown and is only able to fly about 50m at one time.

The Dwarf Tinamou has severely fragmented population that is thought to be deceasing due to habitat loss and degradation.

The main threat to this species is habitat loss due to agriculture, cattle grazing, annual burning, and pesticides reducing the quality of the cerrado grasslands. Due to the short distance this species can travel in flight, it is vulnerable to fast spreading fires and unlikely to travel between isolated habitat fragments.

The Dwarf Tinamou is known from several protected areas but some of these are coming under pressure to habitat conversion. Further research is required to find out more about the population size and distribution, and to assess precise ecological requirements to determine the best management practice for existing protected areas.

  • Order: Struthioniformes
  • Family: Tinamidae
  • Population: 2,500-9,999
  • Trend: decreasing
  • Size: 15-16cm

EDGE Score

EDGE Score: 5.30 (?)
ED Score: 24.16 (?)
GE / IUCN Red List (?)
Not Evaluated Data Deficient Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in the Wild Extinct

Distribution

This species is currently restricted to the cerrado (tropical savanna) of central and south-east Brazil in Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, São Paulo.

Habitat and Ecology

This species inhabits campo sujo (shrubby fields) and campo limpo (clean grass fields) with scattered shrubs. The Dwarf Tinamou feeds on invertebrates, and seeds. A pair in captivity laid three eggs.

Find out more

This wordcloud illustrates the threats facing this species. The size of each word indicates the extent of a species range that is affected by that threat (larger size means a greater area is affected). The colour of the word indicates how much that threat impacts the species (darker shades of red mean the threat is more severe).

Fire Crops Livestock Agriculture Invasive species Wood plantations

Threat wordcloud key:

Small area affected
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Large area affected
Least severe
Most severe
Severity unknown
Source: The IUCN List of Threatened Species. Version 2017.1.
Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org