Great Tinamou | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Tinamiformes |
Family: | Tinamidae |
Genus: | Tinamus |
Species: | Tinamus major |
The Great Tinamou (Tinamus major) is a large species of tinamou native to Central and South America. It is the type species of its family and order, Tinamidae and Tinamiformes.
Description[]
The Great Tinamou is noticeably large at around 38 to 46 cm long. Males weigh from 700 to 1,142 g, while females weigh from 945 to 1,249 g. It resembles a small turkey in size and shape. The plumage color varies by subspecies from light to dark olive green with whitish throat and belly, black membranous phalanges and brown tail. The crown and neck are red, the occipital crest and eyebrows are black. The legs of the bird are blue-gray. All of these features allow the Great Tinamou to be well camouflaged in the lower tiers of the forest.
Voice[]
It has a characteristic vocalization: three short, triplet powerful bagpipe-like notes that can be heard in the rainforest in the early evening.
Behavior[]
As with other tinamous, the Great Tinamou is primarily a ground dweller, though it can fly but quite unsatisfactorily. In evasion of predators and other kinds of danger, the Great Tinamou will preferably and cautiously walk and run away to a hidden place rather than respond by flying.
Feeding[]
The Great Tinamou roams the dark forest stands in search of seeds, fruits and small animals such as insects, spiders, frogs and small lizards in the fallen leaves.
Breeding and Nesting[]
Great Tinamous are polygynandrous birds, and the one that shows parental care as exclusively the duty of the male. The female mates with the male and lays an average of four eggs, which are then incubated by her until the chicks hatch. The male takes care of the chicks for 3 weeks, after which he leaves them to find another female. Meanwhile, the female leaves clutches of eggs with other males. She can build nests with five or six males during each breeding season, shifting all parenting responsibilities to males. The breeding season lasts from mid winter to late summer. The eggs are large, shiny, bright blue or purple in color, and the nest is primitive heaps inroots of trees.
Distribution and Habitat[]
Great Tinamous are native to South and Central America and inhabit subtropical and tropical forests such as low-lying evergreen forests, coastal forests, swamp forests and mountain forests at an altitude of 300 to 1,500 m. Unlike other tinamous, the Great Tinamou is not so badly damaged by deforestation.