Endangered
Dwarf Tinamou
Taoniscus nanus
The dwarf tinamou, also known as the least tinamou, is a small, superficially partridge-like bird with short tail and wings, found only in Brazil.
Appearance
It is greyish-brown with a pale throat, boldly patterned neck and upper parts, and it has brown-barred buff underparts and a blackish crown. Some individuals are significantly darker and greyer than others, but it remains unclear if these plumage variations are morphs or differences between the sexes. The iris and legs are dull yellowish.
It is approximately 16 cm (6.3 in) long.
Published measurements include mass about 43.
Range and habitat
The dwarf tinamou is found in the arid scrub grasslands, around 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation, restricted to the Cerrado region of interior southeastern Brazil in Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and formerly Paraná. The dwarf tinamou, also known as the least tinamou, is a small, superficially partridge-like bird with short tail and wings, found only in Brazil.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet
The diet of the dwarf tinamou consists mainly of grass seeds, termites or other insects and arthropods.
In crisis
This tinamou is the only member of the genus Taoniscus and it is considered an endangered species. The dwarf tinamou is currently threatened by the ongoing habitat loss caused by mechanised agriculture, intensive cattle-ranching, afforestation, invasive grasses, excessive use of pesticides and annual burning. Farming and ranching are its largest threats.
The dwarf tinamou is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It has an occurrence range of 57,700 km2 (22,300 sq mi), and the last population estimate, done in 2000, showed between 5,800 and 6,960 adults.
Dwarf Tinamou is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Dwarf Tinamou, Wikidata item Q248520. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
