Tinamous are members of the order Tinamiformes, and family Tinamidae, divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" comes from the Galibi term for these birds, tinamu. Tinamous are the only living group of palaeognaths able to fly, and were traditionally regarded as the sister group of the flightless ratites, but recent work places them well within the ratite radiation as most closely related to the extinct moa of New Zealand, implying flightlessness emerged among ratites multiple times. Tinamous first appear in the fossil record in the Miocene epoch. They are generally sedentary, ground-dwelling and, though not flightless, when possible avoid flight in favour of hiding or running away from danger. They are found in a variety of habitats, ranging from semi-arid alpine grasslands to tropical rainforests. The two subfamilies are broadly divided by habitat, with the Nothurinae referred to as steppe or open country tinamous, and the Tinaminae known as forest tinamous.
The red-winged tinamou is a medium-sized ground-living bird from central and eastern South America. Other common names for the species include perdiz grande, rufous tinamou, and ynambu.
The brown tinamou is a brownish ground bird found in humid lowland and montane forest in tropical and subtropical South America.
The Andean tinamou is a tinamou, found commonly in high-altitude shrubland, in the Andes of South America.
The puna tinamou also known as Pentland's tinamou, is a member of the most ancient groups of bird families, the tinamous. This species is native to southern South America. The binomial name of the species commemorates the Irish natural scientist Joseph Barclay Pentland (1797–1873) by Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1837. The IUCN list this species as Least Concern, with an occurrence range of 590,000 km2 (230,000 sq mi).
The red-legged tinamou or red-footed tinamou, is a ground-dwelling bird found in the tropics and lower subtropics of northern South America.
The black tinamou is a species of ground bird found in humid foothill and montane forest in the Andes of South America.
The highland tinamou or Bonaparte's tinamou is a type of ground bird found in montane moist forest typically over 1,500 m (4,900 ft) altitude.
The hooded tinamou is a type of ground bird found in forests of Bolivia and Peru.
The pale-browed tinamou is a type of tinamou found in tropical dry forests in Peru and Ecuador.
The Tataupa tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in dry forest in subtropical and tropical regions in southeastern South America.
The ornate tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in the high altitude grassland and dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of west central South America.
The brushland tinamou is a type of tinamou commonly found in high-altitude dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of southern South America.
The dwarf tinamou, also known as the least tinamou, is a small, superficially partridge-like bird with short tail and wings, found only in Brazil. This tinamou is the only member of the genus Taoniscus and it is considered an endangered species.
The spotted nothura is a species of tinamou. This bird is native to grassy habitats in eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and eastern and northern Argentina.
The quebracho crested tinamou is a species of tinamou found in dry forest habitats in Paraguay and northern Argentina in South America.
The huayco tinamou, also known as waypu (Quechua), is a species of bird found on grassy mountain ridges in the Andes of Bolivia and Argentina.
Eudromia is a genus of birds in the tinamou family. This genus comprises two crested members of this South American family.
