It is greyish-brown with a pale throat, boldly patterned neck and upper parts, and it has brown-barred buff underparts and a blackish crown.

Some individuals are significantly darker and greyer than others, but it remains unclear if these plumage variations are morphs or differences between the sexes.

The dwarf tinamou is found in the arid scrub grasslands, around 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation, restricted to the Cerrado region of interior southeastern Brazil[4] in Distrito Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and formerly Paraná.

The dwarf tinamou is currently threatened by the ongoing habitat loss caused by mechanised agriculture, intensive cattle-ranching, afforestation, invasive grasses, excessive use of pesticides and annual burning.

[6] The dwarf tinamou is currently being conserved in three protected areas: Serra da Canastra National Park, Itapetininga Experimental Station and the IBGE Roncador Biological Reserve.