Behavior

Highland Tinamou becomes active early in the morning (at ca 05:45-06:00) in northern Venezuela, and spends several hours foraging (Schäfer 1954). This tinamou adopts a bent over, horizontal posture when foraging, and advances very slowly; often, especially in heavy downpours, it remains 10-30 minutes in the same spot (Schäfer 1954). When paused and not foraging, the posture is more erect, with the short tail pointing down (Schäfer 1954). When alarmed, Highland Tinamou freezes for a few seconds. After the morning feeding bout, which may last until 09:00 or 10:00, the bird retreats to a sheltered site, where it may remain in the same site for hours or walk slowly around the buttressed roots of large trees. There is another foraging period in the late afternoon, lasting until late twilight. Highland Tinamou roosts above ground, but rarely sleeps two consecutive nights in the same tree (Schäfer 1954).

There are no published data on territorial defense, maintenance, or home range size for Highland Tinamou.

The breeding system of Highland Tinamou was studied in Venezuela by Schäfer (1954). Male Highland Tinamous are polygynous; older males mate with several females, all of which their eggs in a single nest, although younger males may attract only a single female.

Highland Tinamou usually is solitary (Slud 1964, Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Potential predators of Highland Tinamou in northern Venezuela are opossum (Didelphys marsupialis), tayra (Tayra barbara), and various species of cat (Schäfer 1954). One nest was predated by an opossum (Schäfer 1954).