CURASSOWS. 277 



minute or altogether wanting. The bill is short and strong, having 

 a peculiar horny appearance ; it is destitute of a notch. The quill- 

 feathers are short and much rounded ; many of the typical groups 

 have the tarsi armed with spurs, as the domestic cock, while such 

 as show the typical characters in their full perfection have the 

 tail-feathers of extraordinary length and magnificently coloured. 

 The females are generally smaller than the males, and always less 

 highly ornamented. 



FAMILY I. 

 THE CURASSOWS. CRACIDJi. 



General Characteristics. — Bill moderate, of various forms, with the culmen more 

 or less arched to the tip ; the nostrils basal, lateral, and exposed ; the wings short 

 and much rounded ; the tail lengthened and very broad ; the tarsi lengthened and 

 robust, with the toes lengthened and more or less slender, the hind tue long, and 

 placed on the same plane with the others. 



The first family of the Gallinae includes a small number of species 

 peculiar to South America, and generally designated Guans 

 and Curassows. These birds reside in the luxuriant forests of tro- 

 pical America ; they live chiefly on the ground, where they pick 

 up the seeds and insects which constitute a great portion of their 

 food. Their powers of flight are rather limited, but they rise freely 

 into the trees, upon the branches of which they often roost and 

 breed. 



The habitat of the Cracidae — known in their native country by 

 the name of "Hoccos" — extends from Mexico to Paraguay, in- 

 clusive of those territories, and there they appear to replace the 

 turkeys that inhabit the North American continent. In their wild 

 state they usually frequent the most elevated parts of the forests, 

 where they live together in numerous flocks. Their manners are 

 peaceable and quiet, except in localities where they are much dis- 

 turbed, but they become wild and distrustful when kept in a state 

 of alarm by the guns of their pursuers, as is generally the case 

 with those that live in the neighbourhood of cultivated districts, 

 as for example, in Paraguay. Their habit of residing in the more 

 mountainous parts of the forests has earned for them in Mexico 

 the name of Tcpototolt, which signifies " birds of the mountain." 



