The undulated tinamou is a species of ground bird found in a wide range of wooded habitats in eastern and northern South America.
Similar species: Tinamous
By Thibaud Aronson
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Uploaded Nov 20, 2023. Captured Nov 3, 2023 06:38 in CWGM+63 Madre de Dios, Peru.
comments (8)
However, like almost all tinamous, hearing it and seeing it are two different things altogether! They rarely leave dense cover and are often shy as they are hunted throughout their range.
Fortunately, at Los Amigos, like every other remote biological station I've visited, the animals have come to realize that humans are no threat and they are more tame than almost anywhere else. I actually saw four different tinamou species during the five days I spent there, but this family of Undulated definitely took the cake!
I was heading out at 5:30 when I spotted two birds eating out in the open, right at the start of the path, some 50 meters ahead of me. It took me a while to even figure out which species it was in the poor light, as there are 8 species in that same genus Crypturellus that occur here! Once I figured out it was Undulated (my first time ever seeing one!) and got a few record shots, I started slowly getting closer. The birds turned off onto a wider path, where I suddenly realized there was a third one accompanying them, perhaps a juvenile! I was then able to follow them for an incredible 50 minutes, as they just wouldn't get off the path! They slowly moved downhill and a couple times they vanished into the undergrowth, as I thought, well that was pretty great, and then they would reappear a minute later!
Still, I never got closer than about 25 meters to limit the risk of spooking them, they hardly ever stopped moving and even after 6, the day was overcast and the light terrible, which made for rather underwhelming photos.
But then incredibly I ran into those same 3 birds the next day, at 6:30, this time with them foraging even more boldly right on the edge of the station's football field! And that's when I finally managed some decent shots. (Notice the butt of a second bird in the top left corner of the photo).
Posted one year ago
Anyway, great species and the behind-the-scenes is so enriching. Posted one year ago