188 ShortCommunications [Auk, Vol. 101 and Bolivia) ranged in weight from 13.0 to 17.0 g (œ= the Ministerio de Agricultura of Peru for issuingper- 15.3 g). Typical soft part colors of the above speci- mits for my field studies. mens were brown iris; black bill, with the basal one- third of the mandible being flesh-colored;and gray LITERATURE CITED tarsi and feet. Ramphotrigonmegacephala was previ- ously known from only one locality in Peru (O'Neill FITZPATRICK,J. W., & D. E. WILLARD.1982. Twenty- 1969), but it has recently been reported from the Alto one bird speciesnew or little known from the Rio Madre de Dios, Department of Madre de Dios Republic of Colombia. Bull. Brit. Ornithol. Club (Terborgh et al. in press). 102(4): 153-158. The only reference that I found to the nesting of LANYON,W. E., & J. W. FITZPATRICK.1983. Behavior, any member of Ramphotrigonis that of Sch6nwetter morphology and systematicsof Sirystessibilator (1968: 109), who gave measurementsof two mega- (Tyrannidae). Auk 100: 98-104. cephalaeggs but did not describethe nest from which O'NEILL, J.P. 1969. Distributional notes on the birds they were secured. of Perf,, including twelve speciespreviously un- The cavity-nesting behavior of Ramphotrigonfly- reported from the republic. Occ.Pap. Mus. Zool., catchersmay shed light on the taxonomicposition of Louisiana State Univ. 37:1-11. this tyrannid genus. Other "flatbills" (Rhynchocyclus PARKER,T. A., III. 1982. Observations of some un- spp.)and flycatchersthat are probablyrelated to them usual rainforest and marsh birds of southeastern (Tolmomyiasspp.) build hanging, pendant-shaped Peru. Wilson Bull. 94: 477-493. nestswith entrance-wayslow on their sides.The habit i•EMSEN,J. V., JR.,& T. g. PARKER,III. In press. Con- of laying eggsin natural cavitieslined with mammal tribution of river-created habitats to bird species hair (as in the caseof Ramphotrigonfuscicauda) resem- richnessin Amazonia. Biotropica. bles that of Myiarchusflycatchers. Furthermore, the $CH•NWETTER, M. 1968. P. 109 in Handbuch der whistled calls (and dawn songof R. megacephala)are Oologie, Band II (W. Meise, Ed.). Berlin, Aka- Myiarchus-likein quality and pattern. Skeletal and demie-Verlag. syringeal similarities also support a Ramphotrigon- TERBORGH,J. W., J. W. FITZPATRICK,& L. EMMONS. In Myiarchusrelationship (W. E. Lanyon MS). press. Annotated checklist of bird and mammal I thank P. K. Donahue, T. S. Schulenberg, and A. speciesof CochaCashu Biological Station, Manu van den Berg for generously supplying details of National Park, Peru. Fieldiana. Ramphotrigonnests and behavior. J. W. Fitzpatrick, J. TRAYLOR,M. A., JR. 1977. A classificationof the ty- V. Remsen,Jr., and E. O. Willis kindly reviewed the rant flycatchers(Tyrannidae). Bull. Comp. Mus. manuscript and provided information on habitat and Zool. 148(4): 129-184. vocalizations.I also thank Max Gunther, for making --(Ed.). 1979. Family Tyrannidae, Subfamily my fieldwork at Tambopata possible, and John S. Elaeniinae. Pp. 3-111 in Check-list of birds of the Mcllhenny, Babette M. Odom, H. Irving Schweppe, world (M. A. Traylor, Jr., Ed.). Cambridge, Mas- and Laura Schweppe for providing generous finan- sachusetts,Mus. Comp. Zool. cial support for LSUMZ activitiesin Peru. Final thanks are due the Direcci6n General Forestaly de Fauna of ReceivedI March 1983, accepted3 October1983. The Dwarf Tinamou (Taoniscus nan us) of Central Brazil DANTE MARTINS TEIXEIRA 1 AND ALVARO N'EGRET2 'Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro(R J), CEP 20942, Brazil; and 2InstitutoBrasileiro de Geografiae Estatfstica(IBGE), Brasilia,DF, CEP 70.000,Brazil In the last 5 yr, we have obtained some informa- grass, composed mainly by Graminae (Axonopus, tion on the Dwarf Tinamou (Taoniscusnanus) at the Echinolaena,Paspalum, Panicurn, Schizachyrium, etc.). In "Reserva Biol6gica do Roncador" of the Instituto this habitat live four other tinamous:Rhynchotus ru- Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica(IBGE) (approx. fescens,Nothura maculosa, Nothura minor, and Cryptu- 15ø55'S,47ø52'W), Federal District central Brazil. Ex- rellusparvirostris. Another species(Crypturellus undu- cept for Azara (1805), the Dwarf Tinamou has not latus)occurs nearby, in dry forest. The Dwarf Tinamou is very small and very difficult been studied in the field; Silveira (1967, 1968) re- to locate, even in open burned-over vegetation and ported only on five collected or captive birds from along trails, which are the best placesto observeit. Cristalina (Goias) and near Brasilia. We saw only isolatedindividuals and pairs, never At the study area, Taoniscusis more common in flocksof "a dozen birds" (fide Silveira, 1967).This "campossujos" than in the "cerrado" or bushy sa- tinamou seemsto be more active in the early morn- vanna. These "campossujos" are grasslands,with ing or in the afternoon, especiallyafter or during scatteredbushes less than 2 m in height and a dense drizzles, when individuals come into the open to January1984] ShortCommunications 189 sunbathe. Dust baths are also common, as for other is harmedby extensivegrass fires. Birds escaping from tinamous ( Rhynchotus,Nothura, Crypturellus). burning areaswere so dizzy from the smoke that we Taoniscusresembles Nothura in many behavioral could capture them with our bare hands. These birds patterns.When alarmed, it standsupright, with the are probably easyprey for the Aplomado Falcon (Fal- neck erect, looking around. It then crouches,remain- co femoralis),which frequently hunts for birds near ing motionless for some time, and suddenly disap- grassfires. PerhapsTaoniscus may be also prey of the pears by running through the vegetation or by en- Burrowing Owl (Speotytocunicularia), which captures tering holes.Sometimes a bird burstsinto flight with such small tinarnousas young Nothuraminor. a cracklingcall, very closeto the observer.The flight Taoniscusis rare in collections,being regarded as is short, almost a long jump, and the bird drops im- endangeredby someauthors (Carvalho 1968, Sick and mediately into the grassa few meters away. Teixeira 1979).On the other hand, it has a large range The Dwarf Tinarnou spends most of its time in central Brazil, from the Federal District and Goifis searching through the vegetation for small arthro- south to S•o Paulo and Paranti. Recent observations pods and seedsof Graminae. Like Rhynchotus,it pecks from northeasternArgentina (Misiones)need confir- at termite nests(Proconitermes araujoi) to catch the in- mation (see also Olrog 1978). It is very easy to con- sectsthat emerge. fuse Taoniscuswith young Nothurain the field, and Unlike those of other tinamous, the vocalizations even the local hunters and farmers frequently are of Taoniscusare inconspicuous,being easilyconfused unable to d•stinguish this bird as a separatespecies. with cricket songs. As in Nothura, the bird stands Within our study area, Taoniscusseems to be more upright with neck erect and bill wide open to vocal- difficult to locate than rare, for several birds were ize. Its call is a trill, "peet, peet,peet ... ee-ee-ee,"in observed during 2 weeks in September. Taoniscus which the "peet"notes are monotonous,piping, and could be more commonin its rather large range than weak and the terminal "ee" notes are louder, rising was believed. Although it survives in burned-over and lowering rapidly in volume and then ending areas and near cities, any evaluation of its status is abruptly. A single "ee" was also noted, apparently a premature, as central Brazil is undergoing rapid ag- location call. ricultural development. Taoniscusis very peculiar in shape, especially be- We would like to thank Dorothy S. D. de Araujo, causeof the prominent "tail" of rump feathers,which J. B. Nacinovic, and E. Willis, who revised our orig- can touch the ground. The soft ventral plumage con- inal manuscript. We also thank IBGE, the Conselho cealsthe feet mostof the time, making the bird seem Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnolo- to "slide" acrossthe ground like a plump, minute gico (CNPq), and the Financiadora de Estudose Pro- toy. An adult male Taoniscusis approximately 160 mm jetos (FINEP), which partially supportedour studies in total length and weighs only 43 g, aboutthe same in central Brazil. as a 1-week-old domestic chick. The Dwarf Tinamou has a thin, pointed bill with LITERATURE CITED basal nostrils. The mandible and maxillary tomia of a collected male (Museu Nacional 32949) are pink, AZARA,F. DE. 1805. Apuntamientos para la historia while the rest of the maxilla is black with a whitish natural de los pajarosdel Paraguayy Rio de La tip. The iris is pale yellow, and the tarsusvery short Plata 3, Madrid. (15 mm) and pinkish. As in other tinamous, the out- CARVALHO,J. C. M. 1968. Lista das espSciesde an- ermost primary is very short, while the two anterior imais e plantasamea•ados de extin•o no Brasil. primaries are slightly curved inward. Bol. Inf. Fund. Bras. Conserv. Nat.: 11-16. Sexual dimorphism has been reported in Taoniscus M1RANDA-RIBEIRO,A. 1938. Notas ornithologicas (Miranda-Ribeiro 1939, Pinto 1964), but the speci- (XIII) Tinamidae. Rev. Mus. Paulista 23: 667-788. mens that we examined have more or less the same OLROC, C. C. 1978. Nueva lista de la avifauna ar- general pattern. As in Nothura maculosa,individual gentina. Opera Lilloana 27: 1-324. Taoniscusseem to vary in plumage. For example,two PINTO,O. M.O. 1964. Ornitologia brasiliense.S•o adult males from the same locality may have plain Paulo, Depto. Zool. Secretariade Agricultura. ashy-blackor slightly marbled primaries. SICK, H., & D. M. TEIXEIRA. 1979. Notas sobre aves The breeding biology of Taoniscusis little known. brasileirasraras ou amea•adasde extin•o. Publ. One nonmoltingmale, collectedon 15 September1982 Avuls. Museu Nacional 62: 1-39. near the study area, was very fat, with gonadsstart- SILVEIRA,E. K. P. 1967. Distribui•o geografica do ing to develop (5 x 3.5 mm). At this time, songswere inhamb•--carap8 no sudestede Goias e Brasilia, very common. In October, we observed an adult with Brasil Central. Bol. Geo. do Rio de Janeiro 200: two tiny chicks,but it was impossibleto capturethem.