Little Tinamou

Little Tinamou

Crypturellus soui

Silhouette: J. N. Wiegers · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

148 Verified sightings at Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park From 2019 to 2026
6,004 In all 45 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Little Tinamou

The little tinamou (Crypturellus soui) is a species of tinamou. It is found in Central and South America, as well as on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. The little tinamou was formally described in 1783 by the French naturalist Johann Hermann under the binomial name Tinamus soui. Hermann based his account on "Le Souï" that had been described in 1778 by the French polymath, the Comte de Buffon. A hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet was published to accompany Buffon's text. The type locality is Cayenne in French Guiana. The specific epithet soui is from the onomatopoeic name for the little tinamou that was used in the local language spoken in Cayenne.

The little tinamou is now one of 21 species placed in the genus Crypturellus that was introduced in 1914 by the British ornithologists Baron Brabourne and Charles Chubb. All tinamous are in the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also palaeognaths, a group that includes the more widely known flightless ratites such as ostriches and emus. Unlike the ratites, though, tinamous can fly, although in general they are not strong fliers. The genus name Crypturellus combines the Ancient Greek κρυπτός... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:16

Ecuador · 2026

© Daan van der Hoeven · XC1154894 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:46

Brazil · 2025

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1019664 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:39

Ecuador · 2025

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1153864 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~40%
2 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
~30%
3 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
4 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
5 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
6 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
7 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
8 Utría National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
9 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
10 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
11 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
12 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
13 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
14 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
15 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
16 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
17 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
18 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
19 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
20 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
21 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
22 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
23 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
24 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
25 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
26 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
27 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
28 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
29 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
30 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
31 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
32 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
<5%
33 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
34 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
35 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
36 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
<5%
37 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
38 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
39 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
40 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
41 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
42 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
43 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
44 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
45 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cali 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
2 Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
3 San José 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Little Tinamou in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Little Tinamou sighting in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park on a given day, based on 148 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 93rd most-seen of the 293 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Little Tinamou in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park?

June

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Little Tinamou in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, April and July–October, the lowest months. That is one of Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park's wettest months, with about 310 mm of rain against 80 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Little Tinamou?

Between 1 and 4 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Tinamou sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Little Tinamou sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Little Tinamou is recorded against all the birds logged in Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park (148 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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