Magdalena Tinamou

The Magdalena Tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus saltuarius, is a member of one of the most ancient bird families, the tinamous. It is endemic to the Magdalena River Valley in Colombia, and has been considered possibly extinct, as there are no confirmed records since the type specimen was collected in 1943. The most recent review consider it likely that it is extant, as locals have reported sightings in the 1970s and 1980s, an individual was apparently held in captivity until the early 1990s, and a few patches of forest remain in its presumed range. Additionally, a record was made in late 2008.

It is sometimes treated as a distinct species, and sometimes as a subspecies of the Red-legged Tinamou. The SACC rejected a proposal to elevate it to species status, arguing that the presently available data fail to support the split. BirdLife International have followed this treatment; hence the Magdalena Tinamou was dropped from the 2008 IUCN Red List.