information:filtering
Breeding

In most tinamou species, the males practice simultaneous polygyny and the females sequential polyandry. This is not invariable; ornate tinamous form stable pairs, and spotted nothuras are monogamous when young and polygamous when older. There are larger numbers of females than males; for example, the variegated tinamou has a female to male ratio of 4:1.

The breeding season varies from species to species; those that live in tropical forests, where there is little seasonal change, may breed at any time, though there is usually a preferred period. In areas with a marked seasonal fluctuation, tinamous generally breed when food is most abundant, which is usually summer. Studies have shown that it is not day length that determines the onset of breeding, but the amount of light, through cloud cover.