• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Justification of Red List category

This species is threatened by rapid deforestation within its range, and is additionally vulnerable to hunting. It has therefore been uplisted to Near Threatened.

Population justification
This species is described as 'fairly common' (Stotz et al. 1996). Based on the recorded population densities of closely-related species (Crypturellus erythropus: 1.1 individuals/km², Tinamus major: 1.65 individuals/km² and Crypturellus variegatus: 2.7 individuals/km² in French Guiana [Thiollay 1986]) and the area of mapped range (c.3,970,000 km²), and assuming that between 9.5% and 11.3% of the range is occupied, the population is estimated to fall within the band 415,000-740,000 individuals, roughly equating to 275,000– 495,00 mature individuals. The population is therefore here placed in the band 200,000-500,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification
An analysis of forest loss from 2000 to 2012 found that forest within the species's range was lost at a rate equivalent to 6% over three generations (20 years; Tracewski et al. 2016). The species is projected to lose 17.7-22.5% of suitable habitat within its distribution over the next three generations, based on a model of Amazonian deforestation (Soares-Filho et al. 2006, Bird et al. 2011). Given the susceptibility of the species to hunting and/or trapping (A. Lees in litt. 2011), it is suspected to decline by 25-29% over three generations.

Tinamus guttatus occurs in northern South America. It is locally abundant in south-east Colombia and south Venezuela, from which its range extends south through Peru and Ecuador to north Bolivia, and east to north-east Brazil (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Restall et al. 2006).

This species is occurs in primary tropical rainforest, generally 'terra firme' (without flooding), up to altitudes of 500 m, but may also tolerate secondary forest. In the upper Orinoco, the species breeds in March and April. Data from Brazil suggests that the species mainly feeds on ants and seeds (del Hoyo et al. 1992).

This species is mainly threatened by accelerating deforestation in Amazonia as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production, facilitated by expansion of the road network (Soares-Filho et al. 2006, Bird et al. 2011). While it is thought likely to be tolerant of secondary growth forest, it is also susceptible to hunting, which could cause local extinctions (A. Lees in litt. 2011). Proposed changes to the Brazilian Forest Code reduce the percentage of land a private landowner is legally required to maintain as forest (including a reduction in the width of forest buffers alongside perennial steams) and include an amnesty for landowners who deforested before July 2008 (who would subsequently be absolved of the need to reforest illegally cleared land) (Bird et al. 2011).

Conservation Actions Underway

None is known.

Conservation Actions Proposed

Expand the protected area network to effectively protect IBAs. Effectively resource and manage existing and new protected areas, utilising emerging opportunities to finance protected area management with the joint aims of reducing carbon emissions and maximizing biodiversity conservation. Conservation on private lands, through expanding market pressures for sound land management and preventing forest clearance on lands unsuitable for agriculture, is also essential (Soares-Filho et al. 2006). Campaign against proposed changes to the Brazilian Forest Code that would lead to a decrease in the width of the areas of riverine forest protected as Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs), which function as vital corridors in fragmented landscapes.

32-36 cm. Medium, brown tinamou. Mainly chocolate brown, with buffy throat and pale spotting on wing-coverts. Voice Slow, mournful, two-noted whistle.

Text account compilers
Khwaja, N., Ekstrom, J., Butchart, S., Symes, A., Wheatley, H.

Contributors
Lees, A.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: White-throated Tinamou Tinamus guttatus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-throated-tinamou-tinamus-guttatus on 21/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 21/12/2024.