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Tinamou

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iTinamou

Image:Tinamus majorAMF042LP.png

Great Tinamou, Tinamus major

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Tinamiformes Huxley, 1872
Family:	Tinamidae G.R. Gray, 1840

Genera

Tinamus
Nothocercus
Crypturellus
Rhynchotus
Nothoprocta
Nothura
Taoniscus
Eudromia
Tinamotis

The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of bird, members of a South American bird family of about 47 species in 9 genera. Although they look similar to other ground-dwelling birds like quail and grouse, they have no close relatives and are classified as a single family Tinamidae within their own order, the Tinamiformes.

Of Gondwanan origin, they are distantly related to the ratites, the order Struthioniiformes that includes the rheas, Emu, and kiwi. Although the fossil record in South America is generally poor (or perhaps largely undiscovered as yet), the known tinamou fossil record goes back 10 million years.

Together with the ratites, they make up the Paleognathae, or “Old Jaws”, as distinct from the vast majority of modern birds in the Neognathae, or “New Jaws”.

There are 47 species of tinamou in South America and north to Mexico, occurring in a wide range of habitats. They eat a variety of food including insects and berries.

Tinamou are rarely seen. Most inhabit the tropical lowlands of South America, typically in dark, dense forest, but some species range as far north as Mexico and occur in a wide range of habitats.

Although some species are quite common, they are very secretive. A small number of species live in more open, grassy country, but even these are wary. Tinamous lay several eggs which are attractively coloured and have a hard gloss like porcelain. The young are precocial, and can run almost as soon as they hatch.

[edit] Species

White-throated Tinamou, Tinamus guttatus
Grey Tinamou, Tinamus tao
Solitary Tinamou, Tinamus solitarius
Black Tinamou, Tinamus osgoodi
Great Tinamou, Tinamus major
Highland Tinamou, Nothocercus bonapartei
Tawny-breasted Tinamou, Nothocercus julius
Hooded Tinamou, Nothocercus nigrocapillus
Berlepsch's Tinamou, Crypturellus berlepschi
Little Tinamou, Crypturellus soui
Cinereous Tinamou, Crypturellus cinereus
Tepui Tinamou, Crypturellus ptaritepui
Brown Tinamou, Crypturellus obsoletus
Undulated Tinamou, Crypturellus undulatus
Pale-browed Tinamou, Crypturellus transfasciatus
Brazilian Tinamou, Crypturellus strigulosus
Grey-legged Tinamou, Crypturellus duidae
Red-legged Tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus
- Magdalena Tinamou, Crypturellus (erythropus) saltuarius
Yellow-legged Tinamou, Crypturellus noctivagus
Black-capped Tinamou, Crypturellus atrocapillus
Thicket Tinamou, Crypturellus cinnamomeus
Slaty-breasted Tinamou, Crypturellus boucardi
Choco Tinamou, Crypturellus kerriae
Variegated Tinamou, Crypturellus variegatus
Rusty Tinamou, Crypturellus brevirostris
Bartlett's Tinamou, Crypturellus bartletti
Small-billed Tinamou, Crypturellus parvirostris
Barred Tinamou, Crypturellus casiquiare
Tataupa Tinamou, Crypturellus tataupa
Red-winged Tinamou, Rhynchotus rufescens
Taczanowski's Tinamou, Nothoprocta taczanowskii
Ornate Tinamou, Nothoprocta ornata
Chilean Tinamou, Nothoprocta perdicaria
Brushland Tinamou, Nothoprocta cinerascens
Andean Tinamou, Nothoprocta pentlandii
Curve-billed Tinamou, Nothoprocta curvirostris
White-bellied Nothura, Nothura boraquira
Lesser Nothura, Nothura minor
Darwin's Nothura, Nothura darwinii
Spotted Nothura, Nothura maculosa
Chaco Nothura, Nothura chacoensis
Dwarf Tinamou, Taoniscus nanus
Elegant Crested Tinamou, Eudromia elegans
Quebracho Crested Tinamou, Eudromia formosa
Puna Tinamou, Tinamotis pentlandii
Patagonian Tinamou, Tinamotis ingoufi