964 TINA MO U 



Buffon and his successors saw that the Tinamous, though 

 passing among the European colonists of South America as " Part- 

 ridges," could not be associated with those birds, and Latham's 

 step, above mentioned, was generally approved. The genus he had 

 founded Avas usually placed among the Gallinx, and by many 

 writers was held to be allied to the Bustards, which, it must be 

 remembered, were then thought to be " Struthious." Indeed the 

 likeness of the Tinamou's bill to that of the Khea (p. 785) was 

 remarked in 1811 by Illiger. On the other hand, L'Herminier in 

 1827 saw features in the Tinamou's sternum that in his judgment 

 linked the bird to the Rallidse. In 1830 Wagler {Nat. Syst. Amph. 

 u.s.w. p. 127) placed the Tinamous in the same Order as the 

 Ostrich and its allies; and, though he did this on very insufficient 

 grounds, his assignment has turned out to be not far from the mark, 

 as in 1862 the great affinity of these groups was shewn by Prof. 

 Parker {^frans. Zool. Soc. v. pp. 205-232, 236-238, pis. xxxix.-xli.), 

 and a few years later further substantiated by him (Phil. Trans. 

 1866, pp. 174-178, pi. xv.). Shortly after this Prof. Huxley (Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. 1867, pp. 425, 426) Avas enabled to place the matter in a 

 clear light, urging that the Tinamous formed a very distinct group 

 of birds which, though not to be removed from the Carinat^, 

 presented so much resemblance to the Hajitm as to indicate them 

 to be the bond of union between those two great divisions.^ The 

 group from the resemblance of its palatal characters to those of the 

 Emeu (p. 212), Dromseus, he called Drom^ognath.e, and his 

 decision, if not his name, has since been Avidely accepted. 



The Tinamous thus — by Avhatever name we call them, Dromseo- 

 gnathx, Tiiiami or Crypturi — will be seen to be of great importance 

 from a taxonomer's point of view, though in regard to numbers they 

 are comparatively insignificant. In 1873 Messrs. Sclater and Salvin 

 {Nonuncl. Av. Neotrop. pp. 152, 153) recognized nine genera and 

 thirty-nine species; but in 1895 Count T. Salvadori [Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. xxvii. pp. 494-569) admitting the nine genera, acknowledged 

 but sixty-six species. They are especially characteristic of the 

 Patagonian or Chilian portion of the Neotropical Region — four 

 species only finding their way into Southern Mexico and none 

 beyond. Some of them inhabit forests and others the more open 

 country ; but setting aside size (which in this group A^aries from 

 that of a Quail to that of a large common FoavI) there is an unmis- 

 takable uniformity of appearance among them as a Avhole, so that 

 almost anybody having seen one sjjecies of the group would ahvays 

 recognize another. Yet in minor characters there is considerable 

 diflference among them ; and before all the group may be divided 



^ M. Alix also has from an independent investigation of the osteology and 

 myology of Nothura major come to virtually the same conclusion (Jcnirn. dc 

 Zoologic, iii. pp. 169 and 252, pis. viii.-xi.J 



