Description: A medium, terrestrial bird with a thin neck and a relatively small head. The body and tail are egg-shaped with the legs directly beneath them. They have a long, slightly de-curved beak with a pointed tip and four toes. They have three toes at the front that they walk on and a small-reduced toe that is raised up the tarsus. Coat: Overall brown with a grey breast, neck and throat base and mantel. The head is dark brown with a black forehead and eye-stripe. The chin is creamy grey and the throat is grey. The neck is brown with thin black bands. The nape and mantle are grey becoming grey on the back and rump all with black bands, which become more distinct towards the rump and white on the tail which is grey. The vent and thighs are creamy to pale orange on the vent, all with faint brown bands and black bands on the vent. The wings are brown, darkest on the primaries, all #of the wing is covered with broken black bands. The legs are steely grey and the beak blackish with a greyish gape. The irides are brown.
Size: Total length 40-46cm.
Weight: Male: 700-1142g, female: 945-1240g.
Senses: They are very weak in flight and tire very rapidly. When they are attacked or startled they much prefer to sneak or run away.
Habitat: Dense primary and secondary rain forest, in tropical and subtropical zones, up to 1500m. They prefer forest that is undisturbed and has tall trees, where the forest floor is reasonably clear.
Range: Males hold territories that they allow female to travel through, although both sexes are solitary.
Distribution: Northern south America.
Status: Not globally threatened. Remains common or fairly common throughout most of its range. They avoid human settlements and where they do venture close to humans they are generally hunted and eaten into rarity. Deforestation is the biggest threat to the species, although its secretive habits have so far saved it in areas where other birds have vanished.
Daily Rhythm: They are active through the day and roost at night in trees. They choose thick branches as they do not grip the branch with their feet, but rather they rest with folded legs upon the branch. They roost alone and often use the same tree night after night, they do not defecate in this area so as to remain unnoticed.
Voice: Both males and females call on a daily basis, females having deep voices, with different notes and tones to males. When startled they utter a harsh trill. The voices are soft and melancholy. Males with chicks use a soft, repeated contact call to keep the family together.
Enemies:
Prey: Berries, fruits and seeds (Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae, Annonaceae, Lauraceae); as well as nuts and worms, insects, spiders, small lizards and frogs.
Food and Feeding: Forages on the forest floor, mostly picking items up off the ground, but also off head height foliage. Occasionally leaps about 1m into the air to snatch a food item.
Grouping: Solitary, opposite sexes mix better than members of the same sex.
Breeding: Mostly January-July, may nest at anytime in Surinam. Males call to attract a mate and once the female has mated and laid her eggs, in the nest built by the male, she leaves to mate with another male.
Gestation:
Litter Size: Normally 3-6 (2-12).
Young Description: Eggs are glossy and intense green-blue, turquoise or violet. Juveniles are darker than adults.
Nest: The male selects the nest site and builds the nest, which is a scratch, usually placed between the buttress roots.
Young Care: The male incubates and cares for the young. Once the eggs have hatched, which they do synchronously, the male broods them for only a few hours and then leads them away, keeping them close by calling softly. The chicks can feed themselves right away, however the male will point out food to them and catch insects for them to eat, dropping them in front of the chicks to peck at. After about 10-20 days the chicks leave the male to live alone.
Sexual Maturity:
Longevity:

Geographical Variations:
Tinamus major robustus
Description: Coat: More extensive black on head and white chin.
Distribution: South east Mexico, east Guatemala, Honduras.

Tinamus major percautus
Distribution: South east Mexico, north Guatemala, Belize.

Tinamus major fuscipennis
Distribution: North Nicaragua to west Panama.

Tinamus major castaneiceps
Distribution: South west Costa Rica, west Panama.

Tinamus major brunneiventris
Distribution:South central Panama.

Tinamus major saturatus
Distribution: East Panama, north west Colombia.

Tinamus major latifrons
Distribution:South west Colombia, west Ecuador.

Tinamus major zuliensis
Distribution: North east Colombia, north Venezuela.

Tinamus major peruvianus
Distribution: South east Colombia, east Ecuador to north east Bolivia and extreme west Brazil.

Tinamus major serratus
Distribution: North west Brazil.

Tinamus major major
Distribution: East Venezuela to north east Brazil.

Tinamus major olivascens
Distribution: Amazonian Brazil.

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