They are part of the oldest families of the world today and have fossils discovered dating back tens of millions of years.

The cinereous tinamou was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

The specific epithet cinereus is Latin meaning "ash-grey" or "ash coloured".

[2] Their color helps them blend with the environment making it harder for predators to detect them.

The under parts of the bird are only slightly paler than the body, and the legs appear a dull orange to yellow.

In general, their bill is very similar to the Berlpesch's tinamou's except it trends smaller and thinner.

The bird is very capable of projecting its voice to seem like it came from another direction so hearing them and finding their exact location is very difficult.

The space between calls shortens as time progresses, so as to appear as to be speeding up in frequency.

[11] Within Brazil, it occupies the Amazon Basin south to Mato Grosso and east to Pará.

[12] It also occupies second growth forest, along with bushy areas with scattered trees.

The breeding season of the cinereous tinamou is year-round due to the perfect climate that they live in; however there is a period of preferred mating, which is August through October, except in Colombia, where it is in June.

[10] The food habits of the cinereous tinamou depend on the season and habitat although they are mostly herbivorous, with a heavy focus on fruit, similar to other members of Crypturellus.

[citation needed] When the cinereous tinamou is young it is more dependent on insects than when they become adults.

The IUCN classifies this tinamou as Least Concern,[1] with an occurrence range of 5,920,000 km2 (2,290,000 sq mi).

[10] The threat to its existence is similar to that of all forest birds, and that is deforestation and fragmentation of the remaining habitat.