RET^IARKABLE BIRDS 



AMONG the remarkable birds is the 

 chauna, whose occiput is adorned 

 with a circle of erectible feathers. The 

 head and upper part of the neck are only 

 covered with down, and it has a black col- 

 lar. A singular phenomenon is exhibited 

 by the circumstance of its skin, even that 

 covering its legs, being inflated by the inter- 

 position of air between it and and the mus- 

 cles, so that it crackles under the finger. 

 This bird feeds principally on aquatic 

 herbage, and the Indians of Carthagena 

 rear some among their flocks of geese and 

 poultry, as they deem it very courageous, 

 and capable of repulsing even a vulture. 



The species known as the horned screa- 

 mer, called camouche in Cayenne, and lar- 

 ger than a goose, bears on the top of its 

 head a singular ornament, consisting of a 

 large and slender movable horny stem. 

 This bird inhabits the inundated grounds 

 of South America, and its very loud voice 

 is heard afar off. It feeds almost exclu- 

 sively on aquatic herbage. The trachea of 

 this bird has an abrupt bony box or en- 

 largement about the middle. 



The avocet, of Europe, is a handsome 

 bird, of slender form, which frequents the 

 seashore in winter, where it feeds by 

 scooping, as it is termed, with its singular 

 bill, drawing this through the mud or sand 

 from right to left as it advances its left leg 

 foremost, and vice versa, seizing whatever 

 living prey is thus met with. The mandi- 

 bles of its beak have often been compared 

 to two thin slices of whalebone. 



The ruff, a true sandpiper by the bill and 

 feet, is very celebrated for the furious com- 

 bats which the males wage in spring for the 

 possession of the females. At this epoch 

 the head becomes partly covered with red 

 or yellow papillse, and the neck is fur- 

 nished with a very considerable collar or 

 ruff of lengthened feathers, so variously 



marked and colored in different individuals 

 that two can hardly ever be found alike. 

 In this species the male exceeds the female 

 in size, which is unusual among the sand- 

 pipers. 



The European bittern is found among 

 the reeds, whence it emits its terrific voice, 

 which has caused it to be designated Bos 

 taiirus. This bird runs with great celerity, 

 like a rail, flies also with unwillingness and 

 with its legs hanging. During the day and 

 when surprised it puffs out its plumage in an 

 extraordinary manner, and strikes with its 

 spear-like bill. In the evening it rises to a 

 vast height in the air, in spiral circles, oc- 

 casionally bellowing in its flight. 



The boat-bill, which inhabits the hot and 

 humid regions of South America, would 

 completely resemble the heron in the 

 strength of its bill and the kind of nourish- 

 ment resulting therefrom, were it not for 

 the extraordinary form of that organ. But 

 upon close examination it has been found 

 that it is merely the beak of a heron or bit- 

 tern very much inflated; in point of fact, 

 the mandibles are singularly wide from 

 right to left, and formed like the bowls of 

 two spoons, the concave sides of which are 

 placed in contact. These mandibles are 

 very stout and sharp-edged, and the upper 

 one has a pointed tooth on each side of its 

 tip. 



The hoazin, an American bird, green- 

 ish brown, and a very curious bird, is per- 

 haps the most insulated species of the whole 

 class. It is found in Guiana, perching 

 along the margin of inundated places, 

 where it subsists on leaves and the seeds 

 of a species of shrub. Its anatomy is alto- 

 gether unique, exhibiting a peculiar adapta- 

 tion for deriving nutriment exclusively from 

 foliage. It is said that the gizzard of this 

 bird is no bigger than an olive, while its 

 crop is of enormous dimensions. 



