How do tinamou courtship displays work?

Tinamou courtship displays involve specific physical behaviors designed to attract mates. During these displays, birds raise their thickly feathered rumps and showcase their brightly colored undertails. In some instances, such as with the ornate tinamou (Nothoprocta ornata), it is the females who perform these courtship displays.1

Additionally, courting birds have been observed chasing one another on the ground. A similar display, which may also occur when a bird is frightened, involves the individual pressing its breast to the ground, raising its rump, and spreading its terminal feathers like a fan to exhibit its sharply marked underparts. These behaviors are part of the complex reproductive strategies of the tinamou, which often involve multiple mating and varying degrees of polygamy.1