Question 1.) Is the use of "estar" even correct here -- "estaré" or "estés".

quedate quieto is a better option.
Question 2.) Should I have said "Mantengas silencio y no se movia." or "Mantengas silencio y permanezcas."?

quedate callado is a better option
o
no hagas ruido
o
silencio
o
quedate quieto y callado.......keep still and quiet
there are more, but I got tired

PS I just know some one is going to write, callate la boca which is wrong, it should be cierra la boca which means close your mouth.

It should be "keep quiet".

Estaré silencio y permaneces

I like this one: "Estáte quieto y en silencio." It sounds like what might be said on a TV wildlife program -- which is what I wanted.

Heidita said:

It should be "keep quiet".Estaré silencio y permaneces

¡Cállate y estate quieto! (this sounds more bossy)

By the way, no accent on "estate".

jeje, claro que no! Estate...that's it.

Pues sí, me gusta más así.

Daniel I said it the other way round.

Yea I know -- but that is just fine.

Heidita said:

jeje, claro que no! Estate...that's it.Pues sí, me gusta más así.Daniel I said it the other way round.

>

lazarus1907 said:

¡Cállate y estate quieto! (this sounds more bossy)

But does this convey the idea of "stay still"? "Stay still" is literally "No te muevas," and it has to do with motion, not sound. Of course, staying still usually also entails being quiet, but stillness is more a question of motion. And the idea here is "Don't make any sounds that the bobcat might hear, or any movements that the bobcat might see."

James Santiago said:

lazarus1907 said:

¡Cállate y estate quieto! (this sounds more bossy)

But does this convey the idea of "stay still"? "Stay still" is literally "No te muevas," and it has to do with motion, not sound. Of course, staying still usually also entails being quiet, but stillness is more a question of motion. And the idea here is "Don't make any sounds that the bobcat might hear, or any movements that the bobcat might see."

James, estarse quieto means: to keep still, not moving, nothing to do with sound.

still (parado)

' ¡estate quieto, -a! -> keep still!
' ¡quieto, -a ahí! -> don't move!

James, estarse quieto means: to keep still, not moving, nothing to do with sound.

OK, thanks. I forgot that quieto and quiet can be false cognates.

James Santiago said:

OK, thanks. I forgot that quieto and quiet can be false cognates.

In Latin, quies quietis meant stillness or rest, and its derivates have similar meanings, inquietus (restless), quiesco (not to move, to rest), quietus (still, inactive, calm), requies (-->requiem: rest). It was also used to mean quiet, in the sense that, if nothing moves, there is no sound either. English stuck to this last particular nuance, discarding the main one altogether. However, you have "quiescent", that keeps the main original Latin meaning, and of course, "tranquility" (trans + quies), which is a fusion of all those ideas, i.e. no noise, no (violent) motion.

The Indo-European root is 'qw(e)i-, meaning rest.