312 TINA MO us. 



FAMILY YI. 

 THE TIXAMOUS. TINAMID/E. 



General Characteristics.— Bill as long as or short2r than the head, the culmen 

 more or less straight, flattened, and covered at the base with a membrane, which 

 also envelopes the nasal grooves, the tip generally suddenly hooked and overlapping 

 that of the lower mandible ; the nostrils large and more or less basal ; the wings 

 short, concave, and rounded ; the tarsi moderate, and shielded in front ; and the 

 toes usually long, mostly four, but sometimes only three. 



The only sub-family, 



THE TINAMOUS TROrER, (TIXAMIX.E), 



have the characters given above. 



The Tinamous are only found in South America, where they 

 are tolerably common. The word Tinaviou is the native name 

 for these birds, and as they bear some resemblance to bustards, 

 the generic title of Tinamotis,* although rather a barbarous com- 

 bination of languages, has been conferred upon some species. 

 The tinamous are found in the open fields, preferring those which 

 lie on the borders of woods. They are seldom known to perch, 

 and are not very willing to use their wings, trusting to the swift- 

 ness of their legs. Of one species of tinamou Mr. Darwin writes 

 as follows : 



" These birds do not go in coveys, nor do they conceal them- 

 selves, like the English partridges. It appears a very silly bird. 

 A man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle, or 

 rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock 

 on the head as many as he pleases. The more common method 

 is to catch them with a running noose or little lasso, made of an 

 ostrich feather, fastened by the end to a long stick. A boy on a 

 quiet horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a day." 



The food of the tinamous consists mostly of grain ; and after 

 the fields of corn and maize are sown, the)' do considerable da- 

 mage by running over the ground and picking out all the seeds 

 wiiich have not been entirely covered by the soil. The eggs of 

 these birds arc about seven or eight in number, and are laid in 

 the centre of some convenient tuft of herbage. 



Mr. Swainson observes that " these birds remind us of the bus- 

 tards, which they probably represent in the New World. Their 



* Compounded of Tinamou, and otis, a bustard. 



