2324 



THE TIN AM US, FLIGHTLESS BIRDS, ETC. 



Habits 



fowl. Pentland's tinamu ( Tina motis pentlandt) , the representative of the second 

 three-toed genus, lacks the upright crest. 



To ordinary observers, the tinamus, both as regards general appear- 

 ance and habits, would be considered as game birds, of which, in- 

 deed, they take the place in South America, where they are so commonly termed 

 partridges. Endowed with far less powers of flight than ordinary game birds, the 

 various species of tinamus frequent either the open grassy pampas, or seek the 

 shelter of woods. The species inhabiting the Argentine pampas, as the author can 

 testify from personal experience, are in the habit of skulking like rails among the 

 luxuriant grass, in which they run from under the very feet of the horses. They 

 can be flushed only with difficulty, although when they do rise their flight is 

 exceedingly noisy and violent, and soon leads to the birds exhausting themselves. 

 Writing of the spotted tinamu, Mr. E. W. White states, in Misiones these birds 

 partake of the color of the soil, which " is of a ferruginous clay, and differ herein 



completely from those of Buenos 



_, / Ayres. They are so completely 



: .:n tame and abundant on the fine 

 undulating grass lands that 

 extend hence southward, that 

 in the early morning they come 

 right up to the houses, and the 

 boys knock them over with 

 stones." On account of their 

 confiding disposition, coupled 

 with their general stupidity, and 

 the excellence of their flesh, 

 these birds have been well-nigh 

 exterminated in many districts 

 where they were formerly 

 abundant; large numbers being 

 taken by riding in a circle and 

 capturing them with a noose. 



Generally solitary, many live in close proximity, making their whereabouts known 

 to one another by their soft plaintive cries. Of all the birds of the pampas, the 

 great tinamu. according to Mr. Hudson, "is perhaps the sweetest voiced, and sings 

 with great frequency. Its song or call is heard oftenest toward the evening, and 

 composed of five modulated notes, flute-like in character, very expressive, and is 

 uttered by many individuals answering each other as they sit far apart concealed 

 in the grass." The crested species, which is also a regular singer, seems to associate 

 in coveys; and, like the game birds, is in the habit of dusting its plumage in 

 the sandy soil. The young, whose precocity in regard to the development of 

 feathers has been already mentioned, leave their parents at a very early age 

 to shift for themselves. The nests are built in a hollow on the ground beneath 

 the shelter of a tussock of grass or low bush, and scantily lined with herbage and 

 feathers. 



PENTI.AND'S TINAMU. 



