How do you identify a Black Tinamou?

The black tinamou is a stocky terrestrial bird with a short tail and rounded wings. Full identification notes are on this page.

How big is a Black Tinamou?

The Black Tinamou is a large sized bird weighing about 1.3 kg.

Where can you see a Black Tinamou?

The Black Tinamou occurs in 4 countries, including Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

What does a Black Tinamou sound like?

You can listen to a field recording of the Black Tinamou on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.

What birds look similar to a Black Tinamou?

The Black Tinamou is most easily confused with the White-throated Tinamou, the Grey Tinamou and the Solitary Tinamou.

Is the Black Tinamou endangered?

The Black Tinamou is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Black Tinamou

Tinamus osgoodi

Tinamous · Tinamiformes · Legendary

The Black Tinamou (Tinamus osgoodi) is a legendary tinamou found in 4 countries, weighing about 1.3 kg. The black tinamou is a species of ground bird found in humid foothill and montane forest in the Andes of South America.

VulnerableLegendaryEats fruitforestground nest1.3 kg

Black Tinamou (Tinamus osgoodi), photo 1 — Photo: (c) Blair Dudeck, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Blair Dudeck · cc-by

Black Tinamou (Tinamus osgoodi), photo 2 — Photo: Blair Dudeck · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Black Tinamou (Tinamus osgoodi), photo 3 — Photo: Blair Dudeck · CC BY 4.0

About the Black Tinamou

The black tinamou is a species of ground bird found in humid foothill and montane forest in the Andes of South America.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The black tinamou is a stocky terrestrial bird with a short tail and rounded wings. It is comparatively larger than other tinamous and tends to be about 40 to 46 cm (16–18 in) long, with females being a little larger than males. A male black tinamou has an average wingspan of about 234 to 248 mm (9.2–9.8 in), and a female black tinamou has an average wingspan of 239 to 256 mm (9.4–10.1 in). While there is no record of the average mass of a black tinamou, a male specimen weighing 1,285 g (45.3 oz) has been examined at the Field Museum of Natural History.

What the Black Tinamou sounds like

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Where it lives

Colombia Peru Ecuador

Recorded as a rare visitor in Bolivia.

When to see it

Best months: January, February, March, April, May, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in February. It is a variable species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Black Tinamou?: The black tinamou is a stocky terrestrial bird with a short tail and rounded wings. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Black Tinamou?: The Black Tinamou is a large sized bird weighing about 1.3 kg.
Where can you see a Black Tinamou?: The Black Tinamou occurs in 4 countries, including Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.
What does a Black Tinamou sound like?: You can listen to a field recording of the Black Tinamou on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
What birds look similar to a Black Tinamou?: The Black Tinamou is most easily confused with the White-throated Tinamou, the Grey Tinamou and the Solitary Tinamou.
Is the Black Tinamou endangered?: The Black Tinamou is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Black Tinamou for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

Play BeakBrain

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.