The Choco tinamou or Chocó tinamou (Crypturellus kerriae) is a type of tinamou found in lowland forest and montane forest in subtropical and tropical regions of Colombia and Panama. Description The Choco tinamou is approximately in length. It is a small, plain dark tinamou. Its upperparts are dark brown, with blackish crown, slate-grey sides of neck, whitish throat and indistinct dusky barring. Its legs are red. The females are darker with coarser barring on wing-coverts and breast, and grey flanks. Behavior It has a low, faint, mournful, three-note whistle voice. Like other tinamous, the Choco tinamou eats fruit off the ground or low-lying bushes. They also eat small amounts of invertebrates, flower buds, tender leaves, seeds, and roots. The male incubates the eggs which may come from as many as 4 different females, and then will raise them until they are ready to be on their own, usually 2–3 weeks. The nest is located on the ground in dense brush or between raised root buttresses. Taxonomy The Choco tinamou is a monotypic species. All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. Unlike other ratites, tinamous can fly, although in general, they are not strong fliers. All ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, and tinamous are the closest living relative of these birds. Etymology Crypturellus is formed from three Latin or Greek words. kruptos meaning covered or hidden, oura meaning tail, and ellus meaning diminutive. Therefore, Crypturellus means small hidden tail. Range This species is found in northwestern Chocó Department Colombia, and southern Darién Department Panama Habitat The Choco tinamou resides in tropical and sub-tropical moist evergreen forests both lowland and montane up to altitude. However, it seems that it prefers higher elevations. Threats The Choco tinamou is currently threatened by the vast destruction of its habitats caused by road construction, human settlement, timber extraction and mining. The completion of a new road-bridge has made unprotected areas of coastal plain forest adjacent to the Ensenada de Utría National Park accessible to settlement and further threatens its habitats. The population at Atrato valley, Colombia, would probably be the most threatened caused by human settlement, and conversion to farmland and banana plantations. It is presumably hunted wherever humans are present. The completion of the Pan-American highway through Darién and the canalisation of the Truandó and lower Atrato Rivers, to make an inter-oceanic fairway, are currently on