FAMILY TINAMIDAE 5 



Governmental authorities of the Republic of Panama have been 

 uniformly courteous in assistance, especially the officials of the Mi- 

 nisterio de Relaciones Exteriores, through credentials that have rec- 

 ognized the scientific nature of my travels and work. I have to thank 

 especially Coronel Bolivar Vallarino, Comandante Jefe de la Guardia 

 Nacional, for permission to visit Isla Coiba. Authorities of the 

 Panama Canal Zone have been universally helpful, and I owe much 

 to the assistance of the Air Force and of the Department of the 

 Army located in the Canal Zone, especially in transportation to remote 

 areas, accessible without such help with much difficulty if at all. In 

 my travels in the course of my studies, which have taken me widely 

 throughout the Republic, from the Costa Rican border in Chiriqui 

 and Bocas del Toro to the Colombian frontier in Darien and San 

 Bias, I have had courteous and friendly reception everywhere from 

 residents of the country, and I owe much to many for their assistance. 



Order TINAMIFORMES 



Family TINAMIDAE : Tinamous ; Tinamous 



The family of tinamous, presumed to be of South American origin, 

 has more than 40 living species in the present range, from southern 

 Mexico south through Central America and South America to the 

 Straits of Magellan. The three found in Panama, known there uni- 

 versally as perdices, are shy inhabitants of forests or thickets, seldom 

 seen as they remain constantly under cover of the ground vegetation. 

 All three are heavy-bodied birds, with long, rather slender necks and 

 small heads. The short tail has its stiffened feathers hidden by the 

 elongated upper and lower tail coverts, so that the body appears short 

 and compact like that of a guineafowl. In traversing their haunts, one 

 occasionally sees a tinamou burst out near at hand with a startling roar 

 of wings, but usually the birds slip away on foot so that their presence 

 is known mainly from their calls. The smallest of the three is the 

 most common, being present universally throughout the Tropical Zone 

 wherever there are thickets or second growth to offer it secure cover. 

 The great tinamou is widely distributed wherever natural forest re- 

 mains, from sea level to the lower edge of the subtropical zone in the 

 mountains. Though important game birds, these two cannot with- 

 stand excessive hunting. The highland tinamou is known only from 

 the subtropical zone forests around the Volcan de Chiriqui, where it 

 is local and far from common. 



