370 
CHAPTER V. 
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 
Unper this name Linneus included a large number of birds which 
bear considerable analogy to the Domestic Fowl, and mostly included 
in the Razores of Illiger. 
The Gallinacez are essentialiy iand birds, seeking their food on 
the surface of the soil, and frequently building their nests upon it. 
They delight in scratching the earth, and in rolling themselves in the 
dust. Walking is their habitual mode of progression, as one would 
at once conclude from observation of their strong legs and their 
short and but slightly-bent claws. Some, like the Partridge, are swift 
runners, having very short wings, which render their flight laboured. 
In this order of Birds we do not find more than two or three 
migratory species. 
The Gallinacez have short arched beaks, which are generally 
very strong, and well adapted for crushing the husks of the seeds 
which, with the addition of grubs. insects, and grasses, form their 
principal nourishment. Their large and muscular gizzards, with thick 
lateral muscles, lined on the interior with a very tough coating or 
epithelium, are exactly fitted for digesting this kind of food. The 
triturating power of the Gallinacez is further increased by their habit 
of swallowing small pebbles, which facilitate the crushing of their 
food. 
In certain species (the Domestic Fowl, Pheasant, Turkey, &c.) 
the males are armed above the back toe with one or more tapering 
spikes (called a spur), which they use both for attack and defence. 
A great many of this class have their heads adorned with crests and 
combs of various colours. These appendages exist occasionally in 
the females, but with much less development than in the males. 
Birds of the most brilliant plumage are to be found among the 
Gallinaceous tribe. The Peacock, the Argus, the Impeyan, and 
Comn.on Pheasant may be said to bear the palm in splendour, and 
