The Spotted Nothura, Nothura maculosa, is a tinamou species. This bird is native to the warmer parts of central and southern South America east of the Andes. It occurs from southern Ceará in northeastern Brazil to the temperate south of Argentina. It lives in dry savanna habitat up to 2,300 m ASL and temperate grassland; the species is absent from the Mata Atlântica and planalto uplands along the coast of Brazil.[1]
Description
A small clutch of N. maculosa eggs
The Spotted Nothura is approximately 24 cm (9½ in) in length. The upperparts are brown streaked buff. The underparts are buff streaked with black and brown on the breast, and barring to the flanks. Its crown is black streaked buff and the throat is white. The overall hue in colour varies greatly over its range; in part caused by the differences in soil at the specific localities. It and the closely related Chaco Nothura (N. chacoensis) are the only nothuras with barring to both webs of the primaries. The legs are dull yellowish-grey or brown.
Like most tinamous, its eggs have a spectacular glossy porcelain-like shell. This is colored a rich maroon or chocolate brown in this species. The clutch contains 4-6 eggs.
Subspecies
The Spotted Nothura has eight currently recognized subspecies. They are not well-distinguished and almost form a cline and vary north to south according to Gloger's and Bergmann's Rules.
- Nothura maculosa maculosa (Temminck, 1815) – SE Brazil to NE Argentina and adjacent Paraguay and Uruguay
- Nothura maculosa major (Spix, 1825) – Inland of E Brazil
- Nothura maculosa nigroguttata Salvadori, 1895 – SC Argentina
- Nothura maculosa cearensis Naumburg, 1932 – Inland of NE Brazil
- Nothura maculosa paludivaga Conover, 1950 – Central Paraguay, NC Argentina
- Nothura maculosa annectens Conover, 1950 – E Argentina
- Nothura maculosa submontana Conover, 1950 – SW Argentina
- Nothura maculosa pallida Olrog, 1959 – NW Argentina
Footnotes
- ^ Bencke (2007), BLI (2008)
References
External links
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