2 So CURASSOWS. 



Sub-Faviily II. 

 THE CURASSOWS PROPER. CRACIN/E. 



Gkneral Characteristics.— Bill more or less long, and generally elevated at the 

 base, the culmen curveil and the sides compressed to the tip, which is obtuse; the 

 nostrils lateral and large, with the opening partly closed by a membrane crescent- 

 shaped or roundetl. 



The Curassows arc large fowls resembling turkeys, but having 

 a rich plumage of glossy black and bright red beaks. Unlike all 

 other Gallinaceous birds, they reside habitually in the crowns of 

 the lofty forest trees, where the males, with their numerous part- 

 ners, move about hidden in the foliage. These flocks, indeed, only 









Fig. 143.— The Crested Cirassow (Crax cristains). 



betray their presence by uttering, now and then, a long-drawn 

 whistling note resenibling a sigh. Five distinct species of these 

 magnificent birds inhabit the forests of the Amazon, where they 

 are much sought after by the natives, both as food and as pet 

 animals. Like the rest of the Order, they subsist indiscriminately 

 upon worms, insects, fruits, and the seeds of plants. Their nests 

 are built on trees, and formed of sticks interlaced with stalks of 

 herbaceous plants, and lined with leaves. The eggs are five or six 



