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What's for Lunch, Dad?
The day after tinamous hatch, the father tinamou coaxes the young out of the nest with soft whistles and whining tones. From time to time, he'll pick up an insect and shake it in his beak. He'll then place the insect down in front of one of the babies for it to pick up and eat. The young develop quickly and leave the nest less than a month after they're born.
Scientific Name: Eudromia elegans
Pronunciation: yoo-DROH-mee-uh EH-leh-gahnz
Common Name: tinamou
Meaning: "good runner"
Locality Found: Central and South America
Age: living today
Length: 20 to 50 centimeters (8-20 inches) long
Weight: 0.5 to 2.25 kilograms (1 to 5 pounds)
Characteristics: Since these primitive birds have small wings, the tinamou spends most of its time on the ground. Tinamou eggs are shiny and come in beautiful colors.
What do tinamous eat most of the time?
big leafy plants
other birds
small fruit and seeds
Correct!
Tinamous mostly eat seeds and fruit from the ground and low branches. Occasionally, they'll eat small insects.
When a tinamou is scared, it will sometimes press its head and body close to the ground and stick its hind end in the air.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fact
Not only that, but when some tinamous are scared, they run for cover because they can't fly.
Only the male tinamou cares for its young.
Fact
OR
Fiction
?
Fact
Male tinamous attract several females by singing to them. Females lay their eggs in his nest and the male cares for the eggs.