Tinamous comprise a single family (Tinamidae), containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. There are few peer-reviewed papers on hybridization in this bird group. The lists of hybrids below – retrieved from the Bird Hybrid Database – should be treated with caution.

Lists of Hybrids per Genus

• Crypturellus
• Eudromia
• Nothocercus
• Nothura
• Rhynchotus
• Tinamus

Scientific Literature

Crypturellus

According to a dissertation by Monroe (1968), hybridization between Slaty-breasted Tinamou (Crypturellus boucardi) and Thicket Tinamou (C. cinnamomeus) occurs occasionally. Hybrid specimens were collected by C.F. Underwood in 1937.

 

Eudromia

In his zoogeographic analysis of the South American chaco avifauna, Short (1975) suggests that Elegant Crested Tinamou (Eudromia elegans) and Quebracho Crested Tinamou (E. formosa) are in contact, but this statement has not been confirmed yet.

 

Nothura

In “Notes on a collection of birds from the Paraguayan chaco”, Short and Unger (1976) discuss the morphological resemblance between White-bellied Nothura (Nothura boraquira) and Brushland Tinamou (Nothoprocta cinerascens), but there is no mention of hybridization.

Some authors have argued that two subspecies of Spotted Nothura (Nothura maculosa chacoensis and S. m. paludivaga) interbreed in along the Paraguay River (Short and Unger, 1976), but a recent study found no evidence for sympatry of these subspecies (Hayes et al., 2018).

 

Rhynchotis

When describing the distribution of the Red-winged Tinamou (Rhynchotus rufescens), Short (1975) mentions that the subspecies pallescens seems to intergrade with two other subspecies (rufescens and maculicollis). The latter one has recently been elevated to species rank based on a distinctive song (Maijer, 1996). However, hybridization between these (sub)species has not been confirmed by additional studies.

 

References

Hayes, F. E., Rodriguez, O., Thalman, E. R., Castellanos, E. A., & Sterling, J. (2018). Taxonomic status of Paraguay’s only endemic bird, the Chaco Nothura Nothura chacoensis (Aves: Tinamidae). Zootaxa, 4392(2), 347-360.

Maijer, S. (1996). Distinctive song of highland form maculicollis of the Red-winged Tinamou (Rhynchotus rufescens): Evidence for species rank. The Auk, 113(3), 695-697.

Monroe Jr, B. L. (1965). A distributional survey of the birds of Honduras. Dissertation LSU.

Short, L. L. (1975). A zoogeographic analysis of the South American chaco avifauna. Bulletin of the AMNH, 154: 3.

Short, L. L., & Unger, J. (1976). Notes on a collection of birds from the Paraguayan chaco. American Museum novitates: 2597.