Nothurinae or ''aridland

tinamous Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" comes ...

''Brown, Joseph W. (2005) is one of two subfamilies of the Tinamidae

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

, the other being

Tinaminae Tinaminae, the forest tinamous,Brown, Joseph W. (2005) is one of two subfamilies of the family Tinamidae, the other being Nothurinae. Tinaminae has more species than the other subfamily, containing 29 species in three genera: * ''Crypturellus' ...

. It contains eighteen

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in six

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. The six genera are: * '' Rhynchotus'' (2 species) * ''

Nothoprocta ''Nothoprocta'' is a genus of birds belonging to the tinamou family Tinamidae. They inhabit scrubland, grassland and open woodland in western South America, particularly in the Andes. They are poor fliers and spend most of their time on the gro ...

'' (6 species) * ''

Nothura ''Nothura'' is a genus of birds in the tinamou family. This genus comprises five members of this South American family. Tinamous are paleognaths related to the flightless ratites. They are probably close in appearance to the flying ancestors o ...

'' (5 species) * ''

Taoniscus The dwarf tinamou (''Taoniscus nanus'') also known as the least tinamou, is a small, superficially partridge-like bird with short tail and wings. Taxonomy and systematics All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are ...

'' (

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

) - dwarf tinamou * ''

Eudromia ''Eudromia'' is a genus of birds in the tinamou family. This genus comprises two crested members of this South American family. Etymology ''Eudromia'' comes from two Greek words, ''eu'' meaning well or nicely, and ''dromos'' meaning a running e ...

'' (2 species) * ''

Tinamotis '' Tinamotis '' is a genus of birds in the tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Cent ...

'' (2 species)

Description

These birds, as a member of the tinamou, are ground birds that prefer to run and walk, but will fly when needed.

Taxonomy

They are related to the

ratites A ratite () is any of a diverse group of flightless, large, long-necked, and long-legged birds of the infraclass Palaeognathae. Kiwi, the exception, are much smaller and shorter-legged and are the only nocturnal extant ratites. The systematics ...

(

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...

ostriches Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There a ...

, kiwis, and

rheas The rheas ( ), also known as ñandus ( ) or South American ostriches, are large ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bone) in the order Rheiformes, native to South America, distantly related to the ostrich and emu. Most tax ...

), and are placed with them in the

Paleognathae Palaeognathae (; ) is a infraclass of birds, called paleognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. It is one of the two extant infraclasses of birds, the other being Neognathae, both of which form Neornithes. Palaeognathae contain ...

. All of these birds evolved from ancient birds that did fly and

are believed to be a still living primitive family closely related to these ancient birds.Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)

Behavior

Tinamous eat leaves, buds, small

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s and

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s, and will eats

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s for variety.

Range and habitat

The members of this

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

live in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and prefer hills and arid

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...

and scrublands as opposed to the

, which prefer

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Footnotes

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q578278 Paleognathae Tinamous