142 Zoological Society : — 



him ; and if he had not managed to climb into a tree, he would have 

 been torn in pieces. But he was kept a prisoner in that leafy asylum 

 for many hours, the surviving Warrees being bent on revenging the 

 death of their companion. Even when the flock went a little distance 

 to feed, they left two or three to stand guard at the foot of the tree. 

 The hunter has no difficulty in tracing the Peccary and the Warree, 

 by the strong odour which prevails wherever they have been. 



" I am, Sir, 



'*■ Your obedient servant, 



"R. Temple." 



On the Rheas in the Society's Menagerie, with Re- 

 marks on the known species of Struthious Birds. 

 By Philip Lutley Sclater. 



In November 1858 the late Mr. Thompson purchased for the So- 

 ciety in Liverpool a young Rhea, which now seems to have nearly 

 attained its adult growth. It proves to be so remarkably different 

 from the Common Rhea (Rhea americana) and Darwin's Rhea (Rhea 

 Darwinii), examples of which are kept in the same inclosure with 

 it, that I have little hesitation in characterizing it as of a differ- 

 ent species ; and in so doing I believe I have the concurrence of 

 Mr. Gould, Mr. Bartlett, and other naturalists, who have had an 

 opportunity of examining the bird. 



The Long-billed Rhea (Rhea macrorhyncha, as I propose to call 

 it) is a much smaller bird than the Common Rhea. The example in 

 the Gardens, a male, stands about 6 inches lower than the two females 

 of the American Rhea, which are in its company, and we may rea- 

 sonably suppose that the female is proportionately smaller. The 

 bill is much longer than that of the Common Rhea, as may be seen 

 from the drawings (figs. 1, 2, 3), which represent the heads of the 

 three species; and the head-feathers are longer and more closely 

 flattened down. On the other hand, the tarsi are much more slender 

 and the toes much shorter. The thighs are less thickly clothed than 

 in the Common Rhea ; but the scutellation of the tarsi seems to be 

 nearly the same in both these birds, and offers a marked contrast 

 to that of Rhea Darwinii, in which the tarsi are for the greater part 

 covered with reticulated scales. The feathers of the body are longer 

 in the Long-billed Rhea, and curve round it, hiding the outline, in 

 a manner not observable in the Common Rhea. With regard to 

 colouring, the new species is also very different, being of a brownish- 

 grey mixed with black, and altogether much darker than Rhea ame- 

 ricana. The top of the head, and streak at the back of the neck in 

 particular, are of a deep black. 



The accompanying drawings represent (fig. 1) the head of the new 

 Rhea (R. macrorhyncha) and the heads of the two other species, 

 Rhea americana (fig. 2) and Rhea Darwinii (fig. 3), which are given 

 for the sake of comparison. 



I am told that this Rhea is already known to some of the dealers 

 in living animals as a distinct species ; and I hope it will not be long 



