Its upper parts are grey spotted with black, its throat is white, its breast is rufous and its belly is cinnamon.

Like other tinamous, the ornate tinamou eats fruit off the ground or low-lying bushes.

They also eat small amounts of invertebrates, flower buds, tender leaves, seeds, and roots.

The nest is located on the ground in dense brush or between raised root buttresses.

[4] The Patagonian tinamou inhabits temperate grassland habitats at altitude 200 to 800 m (660–2,620 ft).