CRANES. 121 



schizorhinal, although not quite ty|iioally dosniognnthous cither. He says that in Vari- 

 ama the internasal sejitum is ossilieil to a very slight extent, and the niaxillu-palatinc 

 j)rocesses may meet in the niiiUlle line, in both of which respects it ajijjroaohes the 

 birds of prey; but the ossified part of the nasal septum does not unite below witii 

 the maxillo-palatiues, in this respect being unlike the Kaptorial birds. 



Two genera, each consisting of one species, are known, viz., Vhuiuja biirmeisteri, 

 from the Argentine liejiubiic, and Cariama cristata, the sjiecies figured, from IJrazil. 

 All interesting difference between the two closely allied genera is the variation 

 in the myological formula of the legs, the latter being expressed by ]3XY, while 1> 

 is .absent in Chu/if/a. We may adil that EXY is the normal formula of the 

 cranes and bustards. Both have a curious crest of frontal plumes, that of tlie 

 figured species being the longest. The color.ation of this species is of a sandy brown 

 above, sandy buff beneath, finely vermiculated with fulvous and blackish, and with 

 a white terminal band on the tail. The orbits are bare and liiiu', eye yellow, bill 

 cinnabar-red. 



The seriema is a large bird, about the size of the great blue heron, and of a very 

 striking appearance, not the least so on account of the curious frontal crest. In some 

 of the Brazilian campos it is common, and its penetrating, though not unpleasant 

 voice, may be heard close to the inhabited places several hours even before sunrise. 

 It is ]>rotected by the law, and a fine is imposed u])on anybody killing the bird, which 

 is thought to destroy a good many snakes. Prof. Ivciiilianlt, liowt^ver, denies this, 

 and says that he only found insects and st'cds in the stoinacli. The chunga, as the 

 other s]>ecies is called by the Spanish iiilKil)itaiits of the Argentine Ilejuiblic, is 

 smaller and more ash-colored, with lilack bill, and the lores are densely feathered. 

 Dr. Hartlaub, when describing it, gave the following accounts of its b.ibits, from the 

 notes furnished by its discoverer, Prof. Burineister, after whom it was named: — 



"It is found in the wooded districts of the province of Tucuman and Catamarca; 

 it nests on the ground. Its eggs are white, slightly spotted with rufous. It feeds 

 upon insects, and more especially upon locusts. The j'oung have a, rufous dres.s 

 thickly undulated with bl.ack ; they verj- soon begin to take care of themselves. 

 The chunga is easily domesticated, and seems, even after a few days of captivity, at- 

 tached to its m.'ister. In its w'ild state it is very difficult to kill, therefore it is pref- 

 erable to search for the nest, and bring up the young bii'ds by hand. The cry of the 

 bird is heard very frequently in the district where it is found, and sounds like the 

 bark of a young dog, but not quite so loud." 



The ajjparcnt broad gap between the cranes and rails, which had led many to re- 

 gard them as separate 'sul>-orders,' broke down when it was shown that ^Imiiii/.i, the 

 limpkin, according to its anatomical characters, belongs to the cranes and not to the 

 rails, where it before had been universally placed. We therefore do not hesitate to 

 unite them in the super-family GUUIOIDE/E, notwithstanding the holorhinal char- 

 acter of the rails. In this case the latter char.acter does not seem to me to be of a 

 fundamental nature, since if the Ocydromina', which unquestionably are rails, really 

 are holorhinal, as Garrod assert.s, they come as near being schizorhinal as any holo- 

 rhinal bird can, judging from photographs of the skeleton, of which a reproiluction 

 may be found further on (Kig. 00, p. 128). This sujier-family correspomls with the 

 usually so-called ' order ' Alcctoridcs, a most unfortunate name, however, since its 

 original inventor made it to include the pratincole, the cereopsis, the seriema, the 

 screamers, and the trumpeter, the la.st being the only genus belonging to it as it is now 



