THE PRINCIPAL BIRD GROUPS 73 



extraordinary bird, about as big as a fowl, with 

 a long pendent crest, and the wings are beauti- 

 fully marked and spotted with white, buff, and 

 black. This bird during periods of sexual rivalry 

 or excitement indulges in a mad sort of reel, 

 spreading out its parti-coloured or spangled 

 wings, and then seizing the tip of its tail or that 

 of one wing in its bill, begins to whirl round 

 and round, producing a most novel effect. The 

 Trumpeters are also remarkable birds, somewhat 

 Fowl-like in size and appearance, with long legs 

 and long necks. They are gregarious and dwell 

 in swampy forests, rarely fly, but run with great 

 speed, and it is said swim when hard pressed. 

 Their cry is loud and far-sounding. The food 

 consists of fruit, grain, and insects. They make 

 a nest upon the ground and their eggs are 

 whitish. 



Our next order is the Ralliformes, comprising 

 the Rails and Finfoots, with which we may 

 also perhaps include the single species of 

 Mesites. The Rails by themselves constitute a 

 pronounced homogeneous group, but the in- 

 clusion of the Finfoots and Mesites introduces 

 a heterogeneous element. By some ornitholo- 

 gists the Finfoots are relegated to a separate 

 order, and Mesites is referred to a sub-order 



