#tinamiformes

Little Tinamou (Crypturellus soui), family Tinamidae, order Tinamiformes, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

The tinamous are an ancient group of birds, related to ratites (ostriches, rheas, emus, and cassowaries).

Though they are not strong flyers, they are capable of flight.

They are shy and secretive birds.

Ostriches, kiwis, emus, and cassowaries all have one thing in common: they can't fly. For that reason alone, they must be awfully jealous of their cousins the tinamous! These birds are the only members of the infraclass Palaeognathae that are still able to fly, likely because they are quite a bit smaller and lighter than their relatives.

2026DrawDinoDaily, Day 81, Marchosauria, 21.03.2036

Elegant Crested Tinamou Eudromia elegans

Gray-legged Tinamou Crypturellus duidae

Native to South America, including Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, and northern Brazil. The call of the grey-legged tinamou is described as a short hollow sounding two-syllable whistle, with the pneumonic: “whoo-whoooooooo” with a slight rise near the end. They feed primarily on low hanging or fallen fruit.

Least Concern

[2926/11080] Darwin's nothura - Nothura darwinii

Order: Tinamiformes (tinamous) Family: Tinamidae

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next order of palaeognath birds are the Tinamiformes, commonly called “tinamous”. They are comprised of one living family, Tinamidae, and 46 species among 9 genera.

Tinamous are the only living group of palaeognaths that have retained their ability to fly, though they usually avoid flight in favour of hiding or running away from danger. Although some species are quite common, they are shy and secretive diurnal birds. They generally have cryptic plumage, allowing them to camouflage against the ground and underbrush, and are heard more often than seen, communicating with each other by a variety of frequently given, characteristic calls, especially during the breeding season. Tinamous are opportunistic omnivores, consuming a wide variety of plant and animal food from fruits and seeds to worms, insects and small vertebrates. They range from semi-arid alpine grasslands to tropical rainforests within Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Male and female tinamous are similar in appearance, though the females are usually larger. With some exceptions, a male tinamou maintains a territory and a nesting site during the breeding season which a succession of females will visit, laying their eggs in the same nest. The male will advertise to females with calls and a courtship dance, encouraging them to mate with him and lay their eggs in his nest. Females will wander through several territories mating with and laying eggs in the nests of the resident males. Nests are always on the ground, concealed in vegetation or among rocks. Tinamous are known for their large, glossy, often brightly colored eggs. Egg color varies between species, ranging through green, purple, violet, turquoise, white, steel grey, chocolate, and lemon-yellow. The eggs are incubated by the males for a period of two to three weeks. The young are precocial, and can run almost as soon as they hatch. Soon after hatching the eggs, the male will leave the nest and call the chicks to him with a soft contact call. If threatened, he will freeze and attempt to hide the chicks under his wings or belly. Young chicks can feed themselves within the first few days, but the male will bring the food and drop it on the ground in front of them. Within a few days they are chasing insects on their own and, at 1–3 weeks, they can fly to branches a metre from the ground. They are self-sufficient within 20 days.

Tinamous have been around since the Early Miocene, though the clade Dinocrypturi (comprising the tinamous and the extinct moas), evolved in the Paleocene.

(source)

Propaganda under the cut: