394 THE FE.\THERED TRIBES. 



THE CHESTED CVIl.\SSOW.* 



M. SonuinI possessed ample opportunities of seeing this bird in its wild state, iu French 

 Guiana, and to him we are principally indebted for our acquaintance with it. It adds to 

 a simple, but elegant dress, mild and social manners. Its flesh presents an aliment 

 equally wholesome and savourj^, which proves an abundant and easy resource for the 

 tables of the South American colonists, and especially for the subsistence of travellers 

 who f)enetrate into the immense forests of that quarter of the globe. 



The race of this bird is permanent ; and though very numerous in some parts, it is the 

 same in all the individuals. These birds have nothing wild or savage about them but 

 their dwelling ; mildness and tranquillity constitute their character, and they seem 

 neither to fear, nor even to be acquainted with danger ; careless, to all appearance, of the 

 preservation of their existence, they do not fly from the occasions of losrng it. Sounini 

 has often found himself in the midst of considerable flocks of these birds, which his 

 presence did not appear, in the least, to intimidate. This carelessness on their part 

 affords the greatest facility to their destruction ; numbers of them may bo killed, even 

 with fire-arms, without their making anj- endeavour to escape, except by flj'ing from one 

 tree to another. 



Such is the character of these bii'ds iu those mighty solitudes, where, having nothing 

 to dread, they must naturally be without suspicion. But, with the small number that 

 are foimd near human habitations, the case is very different : they become Avild and 

 distrustful ; anything disturbs them ; the least noise makes them betake themselves to 

 flight. This continual agitation, and the frequent necessity of a prompt retreat, will not 

 permit them to assemble iu great numbers, and, accordinglj', no more than two or three 

 arc ever seen together. 



D'Azara saj's, that in Paraguay these curassows are never seen but in j^airs, which is 

 probably occasioned by the frequent attacks to which they are subjected in the environs 

 of inhabited places. 



Like almost all the birds that inhabit these southern countries, the cnrassows have no 

 particular fixed time for breeding ; it is, however, rather late in the rainy season, which 

 lasts from seven to eight months in Guiana, than during the drj' season, that the 

 increase of these birds takes place. They have commonly but a single brood in the year. 

 They show but little art or industry in the construction of their nests, placing them 

 merely on some dry branches, in which they rudely interweave some blades of grass ; and 

 furnish the bottom with leaves. Here the females deposit some white eggs, neai'ly of 

 the same size and form as those of the turkey-hen, but the shell is thicker. The 

 number of these eggs vary in proportion to the age of the females, who never lay less 

 than two, or more than six. 



M. Temminck saw, in his cliildhood, u multitude of these birds produced and reared in 

 the fine menagerie of M. Ameshoff, and living on the best terms with all the other fowls 

 of the poultry-yard. lie says, " It is probable that the races of these birds would slill 

 exist, if the proprietors of these vast menageries had liad the public good for their object 

 in such establishments ; but it is to be regretted that most of them considered notliing 

 but j)i'ivate enjoyment or emolument, accompanied by the vicious desire of concealing 

 from the curious those productions of nature, tlie profit and jjlcasurc arising from whicli 

 they would direct to see diverted to the advantage of the public." 



The establishment to which this naturalist refers was broken uj) by Ihe civil- com- 

 motions which followed in the (rain of the French Itevolution, and all the pains wliicli 

 had been bestowed on the education of these birds were lost to the world by their ,sud(K'n 



* Ciax Akitor.— Linn. 



