Vv PHASIANIDAE 
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UL 
white spots on the black plumage. NV. meleagris of West Africa 
and several of its islands, introduced in Ascension and the 
Greater Antilles, which is the origin of our present domestic 
stock, has the broad gape-wattles and bare tracts red, save for 
a blue hind-neck; the small conical helmet is yellowish, and 
a wide grey ring divides the neck from the body. . coronata 
of eastern South Africa, WV. retchenowi of East Africa, VV. cornuta 
of western South Africa, V. marungensis, found from Benguela 
to Tanganyika, V. mitrata of East Africa, Madagascar, and the 
islands in the vicinity, and WN. ptilorhyncha of North-East Africa, 
lack the collar and differ from each other in the shape of the 
large helmet, which may be upright or inclined backwards. 1. 
ptilorhyncha has the naked parts blue, and a bunch of horn- 
coloured bristles at the base of the maxilla; 1. coronata, N. 
mitrata, and NV. reichenowt have a reddish casque, a scarlet top to 
the head, and blue cheeks and neck; the wattles being red in the 
last, but blue tipped with red in the first two, as in WV. cornuta, where 
the helmet is vermilion. WV. marungensis has a stouter, shorter 
helmet than WV. coronata, which it much resembles. Agelastes 
meleagrides of West Africa is black vermiculated with whitish, 
and has a zone of white feathers at the base of the neck; the 
bare skin of the head is red, of the neck white. The male has 
a strong spur on each metatarsus, as has Phasidus niger, ranging 
from Cape Lopez to Loango, which is brownish-black with a 
band of feathers from the base of the bill to the occiput; the 
naked head is in this case yellow, becoming orange on the neck. 
As regards habits, Numida meleagris may represent the 
group. This wild suspicious bird is found in flocks of a dozen 
or even a hundred, not invariably of its own species, which 
frequent thick bushes, tall grass, or rocky river-sides; it runs 
swiftly and with perfect ease, occasionally travelling twenty 
miles a day; while, though the short wings and heavy body 
preclude extended flights, it travels with considerable power. 
When disturbed it usually seeks the trees, in which it roosts at 
night, and under which it shelters from the sun. The food 
consists of grass, seeds, roots, bulbs, berries, and insects, the 
ground being often torn up in the search; the noisy cry is 
hoarse and discordant, or sharp and metallic ; the nest is a depres- 
sion with little or no lining, placed in or under a tussock, and 
contains from twelve to twenty yellowish eggs with undecided 
