The quebracho crested tinamou is a species of tinamou found in dry forest habitats in Paraguay and northern Argentina in South America.
Region
Gran Chaco, South America
Typical Environment
Occurs in the dry Chaco woodlands and thorn scrub of northern Argentina and western Paraguay, often where quebracho and other hardwoods dominate. It uses open understory, scrubby edges, and lightly grazed areas with scattered cover. Birds favor semi-arid, sandy or stony ground with abundant leaf litter for foraging and camouflage. They typically avoid dense, closed-canopy forest and very open grassland, keeping close to shrubs for cover.
Altitude Range
0–1000 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This ground-dwelling tinamou prefers to run rather than fly, exploding into short, whirring flights only when pressed. Like many tinamous, males incubate a clutch that may include eggs from multiple females and then lead the chicks. Its cryptic, finely barred plumage blends perfectly with dry Chaco leaf litter. Tinamous are among the only paleognaths capable of flight, though they do so weakly.
Temperament
secretive and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with explosive takeoff
Social Behavior
Typically forms small coveys, especially outside the breeding season, moving in loose single-file lines through cover. Nests are simple scrapes on the ground under shrubs or grasses. Males conduct most incubation and brood care, often tending mixed clutches.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives clear, far-carrying whistled notes delivered singly or in short series, especially at dawn and dusk. Contact calls are soft clucks and murmurs within coveys.
