Tinaminae, the forest tinamous, is one of two subfamilies of the family Tinamidae, the other being Nothurinae.
Description These birds, like other tinamous, are ground birds that prefer to run and walk, but will fly when they must. They differ physiologically by having their nostrils halfway down their bill or more. They range in size from the largest, being the grey tinamou at 49 centimetres (19 in) and the solitary tinamou at 1,800 grams (63 oz), which are also the largest of all the tinamous, to the little tinamou at 21.5–24 centimetres (8.5–9.4 in) and 174–238 grams (6.1–8.4 oz) and the small-billed tinamou at 20–32 centimetres (7.9–12.6 in) and 154–250 grams (5.4–8.8 oz). They are a very compact muscular bird, with a slightly decurved beak. Their tail is short and rudimentary and appears near non-existent. They have a large amount of feathers on their back and posterior regions. some believe to assist in escaping predators by being able to shed feathers that have been grabbed. Their plumage is drab and cryptic with colors of dark brown, rufous, and buff. They tend to be more uniform with less speckling and striping than their cousins of subfamily Nothurinae, the steppe tinamous. Some of the members of the genus Crypturellus are sexually dimorphic with the females being brighter and having more barring with the rest of the subfamily having only slightly larger females as the only difference in the sexes.
Taxonomy The tinamous are related to the ratites (emus, ostriches, kiwis, and rheas), and are grouped with them in the superorder Paleognathae. All of these birds evolved from ancient birds that did fly; the tinamous are a primitive family closely related to these ancient birds. Tinaminae has more species than the other subfamily, containing 29 species in three genera:
Crypturellus (21 species) Nothocercus (3 species) Tinamus (5 species)
Behavior The larger members of the sub-family, and in particular Tinamus members roost in trees. They do so on fairly horizontal branches and will pick out branches that are 2–5 metres (6.6–16.4 ft) off the ground. They will fly to the branch with a noisy burst of flying while expending amounts of energy that they prefer not to. To make this an easier task, they will attempt to approach the branch from an uphill location so as to not need to gain as much altitude in flight. This technique is also used when they need to vacate quickly to avoid danger, in that they will fly downhill, so as to be able to cover greater distances before the need to touch down. When roosting they will not grip the branch with their toes, but rest on their folded legs. This is the reason the back of their tarsus is rough, and for their choice of branches being thick. They will use the same roost for an extended period of time, moving away from the roost to defecate so as to not plant easy evidence of their sleeping location to potential predators. They tend to be a solitary bird and will usually only approach members of the same species during breeding season and only the opposite sex. However, some species do maintain contact with their mate year-round.
Voice Tinamous in general are a very loud species, with clear, distinct, and sharp calls that reverberate throughout the area. These species are no exception. For example, the highland tinamou can be heard from several kilometers through the thick vegetation of the rain forest. Their calls tend to be deep and loud, designed to penetrate the many layers of the habitat that they frequent. They have many different calls and songs, each one serving a different purpose, for example, the solitary tinamou has as many as 11 different vocalizations, most of which can be linked to pairing, contact calling, or territorial defense. Some species, in particular, the members of Crypturellus have a regional variation in tone of their calls. In fact, some species, like the slaty-breasted tinamou have individually unique calls and can be recognized individually by humans based on these calls. Finally, members of Crypturellus have been known to use regular calling locations.
Feeding Members of these genera, because of their residence in the forests, tend to eat fleshy fruit as their predominate choice of food. That is not to say they will not eat other objects, as they are a very opportunistic group. For example, they will also eat leaves, buds, and seeds, and will eat insects for variety. When eating, they prefer to eat their food of the ground but will grab it off low-hanging branches as well. In fact, members of Crypturellus have been documented jumping as high as 1 metre (39 in) for insects. Some species require regular sources of water for hydration while others like the solitary tinamou can survive without a permanent source of water, and will gain their water from the succulent choices of fruit. When drinking, they are unlike most other birds in that they do not lift their heads bill high after imbibing to allow the liquid the use of gravity to help it down. Instead, they have the ability to suck and swallow.
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