Animalia Life

Nothura maculosa
TAXONOMY
Nothura maculosa Temminck, 1815, Paraguay. Eight subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Tinamou tachetй; German: FleckensteiЯhuhn; Spanish: Tinamъ Manchado.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
10 in (25.5 cm), 0.6 lb (250 g). Female slightly larger. Variable appearance, sometimes very dark upperparts.
DISTRIBUTION
Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
HABITAT
Most subspecies inhabit lowlands, living in open grassland, shrub steppe, and cropland. Its range is expanding as clearing takes place for agriculture.
BEHAVIOR
The call is a series of brief, high-pitched piping notes, often given in response to other calling birds. Populations may be very dense in favorable country, up to a bird to every 2.5 acres (1 ha).
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
The spotted nothura feeds on vegetable and animal matter, taking more insects than plants in Argentina, but elsewhere feeding mainly on seeds, including those of pasture plants, crops, and weeds.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
The species has a very high reproductive rate; females can mature at two months of age and have 5–6 broods in a year. Males take longer to mature, or at least to establish nests. As with other tinamous, males undertake all incubation and parenting, often attracting more than one female to lay in a single nest.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
A very popular game bird, but a high reproductive rate and early maturity ensure that it remains common.

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