CRACIDAE 195 



cere, and nostrils in the middle of the bill, with the addition in 

 many cases of frontal excrescences and wattles ; Nothocrax, Pauxis 

 and Mitiia liave the beak horny and the nostrils basal, Pauxis, 

 moreover, being distinguished by a large knob on the forehead, 

 and Mitim by its short, highly-compressed bill with swollen 

 culmen. The remaining Sub-faniilies have the maxilla depressed 

 and broader than it is high ; Penelope, Penelopina and Pijnle ex- 

 hibit bare throats with a median wattle, Ortalis a mere band 

 of bristly -shafted feathers down the middle, and Ahurria a 

 feathered throat and vermiform wattle, while Chamaepetes shews 

 neither wattle nor bare skin, and Oreopihasis, the sole tenant of 

 the Oreophasinae, a naked crown, surmounted by a cylindrical 

 helmet. The males of Crax, Pauxis, and Mitua, and both sexes 

 of Penelopie jacncaca, have the trachea looped, and sometimes 

 extended to the posterior end of the keel of the sternum ; other 

 forms lack the convolutions, but in several the state is unknown. 



The range covers Central and South America, excluding the 

 Greater Antilles, Chili and Patagonia, but one species (Ortalis 

 vetula) even reaches as far north as Texas. 



These handsome birds, from three feet to a foot and a half in 

 length, frequent forests near the coast or wooded ravines on rivers, 

 attaining at times an elevation of several thousand feet. They are 

 often tame and show great curiosity, Ortalis being commonly grega- 

 rious and pugnacious ; some forms, moreover, rarely seek the 

 ground and are only to be seen perched among the branches, but 

 others haimt the undergrowth in the mid-day heat, and Notho- 

 crax is asserted to take refuge occasionally in hollow trees. The 

 food consists of leaves and fruit, ordinarily procured in the 

 morning or evening, while various species scratch among the 

 debris like Pheasants. The flight is generally heavy and rapid, 

 Chamaepetes in particular descending with a noisy rush and 

 stiffened wings ; the alarm-note is loud and harsh, and in Penelope 

 cackling, but the more usual triple cry is clear and ringing, while 

 Ortalis utters a softer call, and vociferates in rattling chorus. 

 The carelessly-constructed nest of twigs, grass, moss, and leaves 

 is of considerable size, and is placed on the horizontal branch of 

 a tree, in a bush, or on a stump, the two to five eggs — smaller 

 than those of a hen — bein*^ white, with a hard crranulated shell. 

 The young soon climb and hop about the boughs like the adults, 

 of which the flesh is considered a delicacy. Several species are 



