The Undulated Tinamou lives in Amazonian lowlands, and its brown plumage varies among regional forms. It uses floodplain forest, seasonally flooded várzea forest, and secondary growth, and is known for its distinctive call.
Its plumage is brown, with variable barring and fine vermiculation. The Peruvian subspecies C. u. yapura is olive-brown, with a whitish throat and little or no dusky barring; C. u. undulatus has dusky bars on the neck, upperparts, and flanks.
In the Amazonian lowlands it has a distinctive vocalization and favors floodplain forest, seasonally flooded várzea forest, and secondary growth of various ages. It has been recorded up to 600 m along the Peruvian Andean foothills.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.