CEACID.E — THE CURASSOWS. 397 



Family CRACID^. — The Curassows. 



Char. Body large, but rather slender ; bill more or less arched ; tail lengthened ; legs 

 long, robust, without any spur. Toes moderate, slender, the hinder scarcely elevated. 

 Naked spaces frequently occurring on the head and throat. 



Messrs. Sclater and Salx'iu, in their masterly and model monograph of 

 Cracklce (Pr. Zool. Soc. 1870, 504), define the subfamilies as follows: — 



A. Post-acetabular area narrow; upper mandil)le higher than broad; culmen 

 compressed I. Cracince. 



B. Post-acetabular area broad ; upper maudible broader than high ; culmen 

 depressed. 



Top of head covered with feathers ; space between the nostrils naked ; 

 nostjils exposed II. Penelopince. 



Top of head with a bony tubercle ; internasal space densely feathered ; 

 nostrils concealed III. Oreophasinoe. 



By the term "post-acetabular area" is understood that portion of the 

 dorsal aspect of the pelvis which is bounded in front by a line drawn through 

 the acetabida. 



The Cracince, or Curassows, are found in Mexico, in Central and in South 

 America; the Orcophasince are represented by a single species, Orcopliasis 

 dcrhianus, a bird nearly as large as a Turkey, occiu-ring in the wooded region 

 of the Yolcan de Fuego, Guatemala, at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Of the 

 PenclopincB one species only is found in the United States. 



Subfamily PENELOPIN^. 



This is the most extensive section of Gracidce, embracing, according to 

 Sclater and Salvin, no less than thirty-nine species. The genera indicated 

 are as follows : — 



A. A central fold of skin on the throat. 



Outer quills narrow, but entire. 



Throat feathered 1 . Stegnolsema. 



Throat naked. 



Sexes similar '1. Penelope. 



Sexes diflerent 3. Penelopina. 



Outer quills emarginated. 



Gular fold short 4. Pipile. 



Gular fold lengthened ; linear ■">. Aburria. 



B. No central gular fold. 



Throat feathered ; outer qtiills emarginated . . . .6. Chameepetes. 

 Throat naked; with a central line of bristly feathers ; outer quills entire. 



7. Ortalida. 



