266 GRUIFORMES CHAP. 
eleven, and the inner feathers comparatively short. The nostrils 
are pervious, the tongue is lanceolate, the furcula is U-shaped, 
the after-shaft is diminutive, and the powder-down patches are 
abundant, though writers differ as to their extent. #. helias— 
as Prof. Newton says in his excellent account '—is not to be 
described in a limited space otherwise than generally; it has a 
black head, with a white stripe above and under each eye, and a 
white throat : the remaining plumage “ being variegated with black, 
brown, chestnut, bay, buff, grey, and white—so mottled, speckled, 
and belted either in wave-like or zigzag forms, as somewhat to 
resemble certain moths. The bay colour forms two conspicuous 
patches on each wing, and also an antepenultimate bar on the tail, 
Fic. 56.—Sun-Bittern. Hurypyga helias. x4. 
behind which is a subterminal band of black. The irides are red ; 
the bill is greenish-olive ; and the legs are pale yellow.” £. major 
is larger and more uniform in colour. Both adults and nestlings 
have copious down, that of the latter being lightish brown with 
lines and spots of darker brown and white. The sexes are similar. 
The “Sun-Bittern,” to use its common but misleading name, is 
found on the larger rivers, where the banks are wooded and 
swampy; it is shy but easily tamed, and, according to Bates, is 
kept in captivity by the Brazilians. It walks quietly and cir- 
cumspectly with horizontal body and outstretched head, and 
probably flies but little. Like the Kagu, it executes a fantastic 
dance, but in this case the wings and tail form a semicircle which 
nearly conceals the body. The note is a soft or plaintive long- 
1 Dict. Birds, 1896, pp. 923-925. 
