The Zoochat Photographic Guide To Ratites

Another fun little diversion to keep my creative juices flowing!

First things first; this thread will follow the most recent taxonomic reassessment of the various ratite families, which places the Tinamidae - previously held to be a distinct group sister to the ratites sensu lato within a larger Palaeognathae - in a position deeply nested within the ratite radiation. I will discuss this more as this thread proceeds, but it goes without saying that the ramifications of this taxonomic reassessment - which also moved a number of ratite families to previously-unexpected positions in the overall cladogram - are rather interesting, suggesting as they do that *all* recent ratite families evolved flightlessness independently from one another, given how widely spread sister families seem to be.

Secondly, for the purposes of discussing which species and subspecies are valid I shall predominantly follow the list published on the Handbook of the Birds of the World webpage, with one notable exception; where the three extant cassowary taxa are concerned, I shall take the opportunity to discuss the preliminary findings published in the excellent Taxonomy of the Genus Casuarius: The defined and known living Cassowary species and subspecies (2016) by the late Richard Perron; given the fact that cassowary taxonomy is highly complex and unclear due to introductions outside of native range, hybridisation between species, a high level of natural variation within species and deliberate alteration and manipulation of taxidermy specimens which have reached Western collections, the HBW website takes a very conservative approach with regards to the genus.

Finally, although I will not discuss the two recently-extinct orders of ratite in great detail, they will be mentioned in brief terms at the respective correct points in the proposed cladistic analysis.

 

RATITES



All recent genetic and morphological analyses suggest that modern ratites comprise seven orders - five extant and two recently-extinct - which fall within a total of five monophyletic lineages diverging as follows:


STRUTHIONIFORMES (Ostriches)
-----
RHEIFORMES (Rheas)
-----
TINAMIFORMES (Tinamous)
DINORNITHIFORMES (Moa)
-----
APTERYGIFORMES (Kiwis)
AEPYORNITHIFORMES (Elephant-birds)
-----
CASUARIIFORMES (Emu and Cassowaries)

 

STRUTHIONIFORMES


This order comprises the ostriches, and contains a single extant family:

STRUTHIONIDAE - (2 extant species within one genus)

1

 

STRUTHIONIDAE


This family contains a single genus:

Struthio - Ostrich (2 species)

1

 

Struthio


Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus)

The range of this species extends throughout the arid and grassland habitats of sub-Saharan Africa; until recently the distribution of the species also extended into northern Africa, the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula.

Three extant subspecies recognised:

S. c. australis - photo by @Maguari



S. c. camelus - photo by @alexkant



S. c. massaicus - photo by @alexkant




Somali Ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes)

The range of this species extends from southern Ethiopia, through Somalia and Djibouti into northern and eastern Kenya.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Maguari

 

RHEIFORMES


This order comprises the rheas, and contains a single extant family:

RHEIDAE - (3 extant species within one genus)
1

 

RHEIDAE


This family contains a single genus:

Rhea - Rhea (3 species)

1

 

Rhea


Greater Rhea (Rhea americana)

The range of this species extends throughout much of South America, from west-central Brazil to the Atlantic coast, and south through Paraguay, Uruguay and northeast Bolivia into northern and eastern Argentina.

Five subspecies recognised:

R. a. araneipes - photo by @devilfish



R. a. albescens - photo by @carlos55



R. a. nobilis
R. a. americana
R. a. intermedia


Lesser Rhea (Rhea pennata)

The range of this species extends throughout west-central and southern Argentina, and southeast Chile.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Maguari




Puna Rhea (Rhea tarapacensis)

The range of this species extends from southern Peru, through western Bolivia into northern Chile and northwest Argentina.

Two subspecies recognised:

R. t. garleppi
R. t. tarapacensis

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

TINAMIFORMES


This order comprises the tinamous, and contains a single extant family:

TINAMIDAE - (48 extant species within nine genera)

1

 

TINAMIDAE


This family contains nine genera:


Nothocercus - 3 species

Tinamus - 5 species

Crypturellus - 22 species

Rhynchotus - 2 species

Nothoprocta - 6 species

Nothura - 5 species

Taoniscus - 1 species

Eudromia - 2 species

Tinamotis - 2 species
 

 

Nothocercus


Highland Tinamou (Nothocercus bonapartei)

The range of this species extends from the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama in Central America, south to the Andes of Colombia, eastern Ecuador, northern Peru and western Venezuela.

Five subspecies recognised:

N. b. frantzii
N. b. interceden
N. b. bonapartei
N. b. discrepans
N. b. plumbeiceps

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Tawny-breasted Tinamou (Nothocercus julius)

The range of this species extends throughout the Andes, from western Venezuela and central Colombia into Ecuador and northern Peru.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Hooded Tinamou (Nothocercus nigrocapillus)

The range of this species extends throughout the eastern slopes of the Andes, from northern Peru to central Bolivia.

Two subspecies recognised:

N. n. cadwaladeri
N. n. nigrocapillus

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Tinamus


Grey Tinamou (Tinamus tao)

The range of this species extends throughout much of northern South America, from central Colombia and eastern Ecuador and Peru, south to north-central and western Brazil.

Four subspecies recognised:

T. t. septentrionalis
T. t. larensis
T. t. kleei
T. t. tao

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Solitary Tinamou (Tinamus solitarius)

The range of this species extends through northeastern Argentina into eastern Paraguay and eastern Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Black Tinamou (Tinamus osgoodi)

The range of this species is restricted to patchy disjunct areas of the Andes of southeastern Peru and the Andes of Colombia.

Two subspecies recognised:

T. o. hershkovitzi
T. o. osgoodi

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Great Tinamou (Tinamus major)

The range of this species extends throughout Central America and northern South America, from southeast Mexico to as far south as Bolivia and west-central Brazil.

Twelve subspecies recognised:

T. m. robustus
T. m. percautus
T. m. fuscipennis
T. m. castaneiceps
T. m. brunneiventris
T. m. saturatus
T. m. latifrons
T. m. zuliensis
T. m. major
T. m. peruvianus
T. m. serratus
T. m. olivascens

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


White-throated Tinamou (Tinamus guttatus)

The range of this species extends from southeast Colombia and southern Venezuela into Amazonian Brazil and northern Bolivia.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Crypturellus


Berlepsch's Tinamou (Crypturellus berlepschi)

The range of this species is restricted to coastal forests of northwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Cinereous Tinamou (Crypturellus cinereus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of northern South America, from Colombia and southern Venezuela into the Guianas, north-central Brazil and northern Bolivia.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Tepui Tinamou (Crypturellus ptaritepui)

The range of this species is restricted to southeast Venezuela.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Little Tinamou (Crypturellus soui)

The range of this species extends throughout Central America and northern South America, from southern Mexico to northeastern Brazil, west to Ecuador and east to the Guianas and Trinidad.

Fourteen subspecies recognised:

C. s. meserythrus
C. s. modestus
C. s. capnodes
C. s. poliocephalus
C. s. panamensis
C. s. harterti
C. s. caucae
C. s. mustelinus
C. s. andrei
C. s. soui
C. s. caquetae
C. s. nigriceps
C. s. inconspicuus
C. s. albigularis

Photo by @devilfish




Brown Tinamou (Crypturellus obsoletus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of South America in a patchy, disjunct distribution, from as far north as northern Venezuela and Ecuador, to as far south as northeast Argentina and Paraguay.

Nine subspecies recognised:

C. o. castaneus
C. o. ochraceiventris
C. o. traylori
C. o. punensis
C. o. cerviniventris
C. o. knoxi
C. o. griseiventris
C. o. hypochraceus
C. o. obsoletus

Photo by @Tomek




Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus)

The range of this species extends throughout central and northern South America, from southern Venezuela and eastern Columbia south to northern Argentina.

Six subspecies recognised:

C. u. manapiare
C. u. simplex
C. u. yapura
C. u. vermiculatus
C. u. adspersus
C. u. undulatus

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Brazilian Tinamou (Crypturellus strigulosus)

The range of this species extends throughout Amazonian Brazil, and into northwestern Bolivia and eastern Peru.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Grey-legged Tinamou (Crypturellus duidae)

The range of this species extends patchily through the tropical forests of east-central Colombia and southern Venezuela.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Red-legged Tinamou (Crypturellus erythropus)

The range of this species extends throughout coastal northern South America, from northern Colombia east through the Guianas to northern Brazil.

Seven subspecies recognised:

C. e. columbianus
C. e. saltuarius
C. e. idoneus
C. e. cursitans
C. e. spencei
C. e. margaritae
C. e. erythropus

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Yellow-legged Tinamou (Crypturellus noctivagus)

The range of this species extends throughout the lowlands of eastern Brazil.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. n. zabele
C. n. noctivagus

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Black-capped Tinamou (Crypturellus atrocapillus)

The range of this species extends throughout the lowlands of southeastern Peru and northern Bolivia.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. a. atrocapillus
C. a. garleppi

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Western Thicket Tinamou (Crypturellus occidentalis)

The range of this species is restricted to the Pacific coastline of west-central Mexico.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Eastern Thicket Tinamou (Crypturellus cinnamomeus)

The range of this species extends throughout Mexico and Central America from the Atlantic coastline of east-central Mexico to northwest Costa Rica.

Eight subspecies recognised:

C. c. mexicanus
C. c. sallaei
C. c. soconuscensis
C. c. goldmani
C. c. vicinio
C. c. cinnamomeus
C. c. delattrii
C. c. praepes

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Pale-browed Tinamou (Crypturellus transfasciatus)

The range of this species is restricted to the coastal forests of Ecuador and extreme northwestern Peru.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Slaty-breasted Tinamou (Crypturellus boucardi)

The range of this species extends throughout the Atlantic coastline of Central America, from southeast Mexico to northern Costa Rica.

Two subspecies recognised:

C. b. boucardi
C. b. costaricensis

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Choco Tinamou (Crypturellus kerriae)

The range of this species is restricted to the coastal foothills of southeastern Panama to northwestern Colombia.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Variegated Tinamou (Crypturellus variegatus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of northern South America, from Amazonian Colombia and Venezuela into the Guianas, Peru and northern Brazil; a disjunct population exists in coastal eastern Brazil.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Rusty Tinamou (Crypturellus brevirostris)

The range of this species is restricted to a patchy distribution within French Guiana, eastern Peru, and northwestern and northeastern Brazil.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Bartlett’s Tinamou (Crypturellus bartletti)

The range of this species is restricted to western Amazonian Brazil, northern Bolivia, and eastern Peru.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Barred Tinamou (Crypturellus casiquiare)

The range of this species is restricted to patchy areas of eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Small-billed Tinamou (Crypturellus parvirostris)

The range of this species extends throughout central South America, from southeastern Peru and Brazil south of the Amazon into northern and eastern Bolivia, Paraguay and northeast Argentina.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Maguari




Tataupa Tinamou (Crypturellus tataupa)

The range of this species extends throughout central South America, from northeast Brazil and southern Peru, through Bolivia and Paraguay into northern Argentina.

Four subspecies recognised:

C. t. inops
C. t. peruvianus
C. t. lepidotus
C. t. tataupa

Photo by @vogelcommando

 

Rhynchotus


Red-winged Tinamou (Rhynchotus rufescens)

The range of this species extends throughout central and eastern South America, from central and northeast Brazil in the north, through Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru into northern and eastern Argentina in the south.

Three subspecies recognised:

R. r. catingae
R. r. rufescens - photo by @devilfish



R. r. pallescens - photo by @devilfish




Huayco Tinamou (Rhynchotus maculicollis)

The range of this species is restricted to the Andes of northwestern Argentina and Bolivia.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Nothoprocta


Taczanowski's Tinamou (Nothoprocta taczanowskii)

The range of this species is restricted to the Andes of south central Peru.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Ornate Tinamou (Nothoprocta ornata)

The range of this species extends from central Peru, south through Bolivia into northern Chile and northwest Argentina.

Five subspecies recognised:

N. o. branickii
N. o. ornata
N. o. jimenezi
N. o. labradori
N. o. rostrata

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Chilean Tinamou (Nothoprocta perdicaria)

The range of this species extends throughout central Chile and west-central Argentina.

Two subspecies recognised:

N. p. perdicaria
N. p. sanborni

Photo by @Tomek




Brushland Tinamou (Nothoprocta cinerascens)

The range of this species extends from southeastern Bolivia and northwestern Paraguay into northern and central Argentina.

Two subspecies recognised:

N. c. cinerascens - photo by @devilfish



N. c. parvimaculata


Andean Tinamou (Nothoprocta pentlandii)

The range of this species extends throughout the Andes, from southwest Ecuador to central Argentina.

Eight subspecies recognised:

N. p. ambigua
N. p. oustaleti
N. p. niethammer
N. p. fulvescens
N. p. pentlandii
N. p. patriciae
N. p. mendozae
N. p. doeringi

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Curve-billed Tinamou (Nothoprocta curvirostris)

The range of this species extends throughout the Andes of southern Ecuador to northern Peru.

Two subspecies recognised:

N. c. curvirostris
N. c. peruviana

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Nothura


White-bellied Nothura (Nothura boraquira)

The range of this species extends from northeast Brazil and eastern Bolivia to northern Paraguay.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Lesser Nothura (Nothura minor)

The range of this species is restricted to patchy populations in south-central and south-east Brazil.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Darwin’s Nothura (Nothura darwinii)

The range of this species extends throughout western South America, from southern Peru to southern and western Argentina.

Five subspecies recognised:

N. d. peruviana
N. d. agassizii
N. d. boliviana
N. d. salvadorii
N. d. darwinii

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Spotted Nothura (Nothura maculosa)

The range of this species extends throughout southern and eastern Brazil into Paraguay and Uruguay, and as far south as southwestern Argentina.

Eight subspecies recognised:

N. m. cearensis
N. m. major
N. m. paludivaga
N. m. maculosa
N. m. pallida
N. m. annectens
N. m. submontana
N. m. nigroguttata

Photo by @devilfish




Chaco Nothura (Nothura chacoensis)

Restricted to the Chaco of northwestern Paraguay and north central Argentina.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Taoniscus


Dwarf Tinamou (Taoniscus nanus)

The range of this species is restricted to localised disjunct populations in central and southeastern Brazil.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Eudromia


Elegant Crested Tinamou (Eudromia elegans)

The range of this species extends throughout Argentina and southern Chile.

Ten subspecies recognised:

E. e. intermedia
E. e. magnistriata
E. e. riojana
E. e. albida
E. e. wetmorei
E. e. devia
E. e. numida
E. e. multiguttata
E. e. elegans
E. e. patagonica

Photo by @gentle lemur




Quebracho Crested Tinamou (Eudromia formosa)

The range of this species extends through the Chaco of northwestern Paraguay and north central Argentina.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Tinamotis


Puna Tinamou (Tinamotis pentlandii)

The range of this species extends throughout the Andes of Peru, western Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, and Chile.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.


Patagonian Tinamou (Tinamotis ingoufi)

The range of this species extends throughout the savanna of southwestern Argentina and southern Chile.

Monotypic.

No photographs of this species are present in the Zoochat gallery.