Great Tinamou (Tinamus major) Egg

This 3D printable Great Tinamou egg captures the smooth, glossy shape of one of the rainforest’s most visually striking eggs. The Great Tinamou (Tinamus major) is a secretive, flightless bird found in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Despite resembling quails or pheasants, tinamous aren’t just another ground bird—they’re the closest living relatives of ostriches, emus, and kiwis, and are the only members of their ancient lineage (Order: Tinamiformes) still capable of limited flight.

Their eggs, however, are the real showstopper. Laid directly on the forest floor, Great Tinamou eggs are a vivid turquoise blue with a smooth, mirror-like gloss. Even more unusually, it’s the male that takes on the parenting duties—he incubates the clutch, broods the chicks, and raises them alone while the female moves on to mate again.

This digital STL file replicates the size and proportions of a real Great Tinamou egg, making it ideal for educational displays, rainforest dioramas, or tropical bird collections. It’s ready for you to print, paint, and display. The files are packaged in a .zip archive and scaled to life-size: around 58 mm long and 48mm wide.

We successfully printed this model in PLA on an FDM printer using these settings:

• Nozzle size: 0.4mm
• Layer height: variable
• Wall thickness: 1.2mm
• Infill: 10% gyroid
• Support material: True

We oriented the model with the slightly pointier end down. If your slicer supports it, we recommend using a concentric support interface pattern to avoid any unsightly grid patterns where the support material meets the model.