The brushland tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in high-altitude dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of southern South America.
Region
Gran Chaco and Andean foothills
Typical Environment
Occurs in the dry shrublands and thorn scrub of southern South America, including Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. It inhabits arid foothills, rocky slopes, and open scrub with scattered grasses and cacti. The species also uses edges of dry forests and fallow fields where ground cover persists. It favors dense low vegetation for concealment but forages into more open patches nearby.
Altitude Range
400–3000 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Tinamous are among the most ancient living relatives of ratites, yet unlike ostriches and emus they can fly—though they prefer to run. The brushland tinamou relies on superb camouflage and will erupt in a brief, explosive flight only when pressed. Males incubate and rear the chicks, often from a clutch containing eggs laid by multiple females. Its mellow, far-carrying whistles are a signature sound of dry shrublands in southern South America.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
explosive flush with short rapid wingbeats; low, fast dashes followed by quick descent
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in small family groups, keeping to cover. Nests are shallow scrapes on the ground hidden under shrubs or grasses. The male incubates eggs—often from multiple females—and leads the downy chicks soon after hatching.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of mellow, far-carrying whistles, often given at dawn and dusk. Calls are plaintive and flute-like, carrying over long distances in open scrub.
Plumage
Mottled and vermiculated brown and gray with fine barring that creates a scaly appearance; underparts buffy with darker barring. Back and wings show dense mottling; throat paler and often whitish. Overall cryptic pattern blends with dry scrub and leaf litter.
Diet
Eats seeds, tender leaves, buds, and fruits from shrubs and grasses. Also takes insects and other small invertebrates, including beetles, ants, and termites, especially during the breeding season. Forages by walking and picking items from the ground or low vegetation, occasionally scratching lightly in leaf litter. Opportunistic around edges of fields and tracks.
Preferred Environment
Feeds under cover of thorn scrub, in open patches within dry shrubland, and along ecotones between scrub and dry forest. Will use disturbed areas such as fallow fields where cover remains nearby.
