RAILS. 



379 



They are generally found associated in pairs, and are very shy and 

 timid, but soon betray themselves by their vociferation. When at 

 rest, they generally perch on the branches of lofty trees. Seeds 

 and the leaves of aquatic plants constitute their usual diet. Their 

 wings are armed with formidable spurs, capable of being used 

 with much effect as weapons of offence. 

 The typical species — 



The Horned Screamer {Palamedca comuia), is found in Cayenne, 

 Guiana, and Surinam, amid vast swamps and savannahs teeming with animal 

 ht'e. Here a continual discord of jarring sounds arises from the contending 

 voices of the multifarious mhabitants , but above them all is heard the start- 

 ling voice of the horned screamer, ijhoo ! vyhoo ! loud, clear, and shrill. 

 But it is not for its voice alone that this bird is remarkable : on the elbow of 

 each wing are two large hard spurs, projectmg directly forwards. Snakes of 

 various sizes, all rapacious and all to be dreaded, lurk in the haunts frequented 

 by the screamer, and these formidable weapons enable the bird to defend 

 itself and its young agamst their assaults. If not attacked, the screamer 

 molests neither reptiles nor buds ; its habits are shy, its r-^anners are gentle, 

 and It lives in pairs united- for life. It wades in search of i.. j leaves and seeds 

 of aquatic plants, on which it feeds, and for which its muscular gizzard is 

 adapted, though some haxe asserted that reptiles constitute its food. Its flight, 

 as might be expected from the length and spread of its wings, is strong and 

 sweeping, and when on the ground it walks with an air of pride, keeping its 

 head elevated, so that it was formerly regarded by many as an aquatic kind 

 of eagle. Upon its head is a curious horn-like appendage, from three to four 

 inches in length, and about as thick as a goose-quill : the use of this remark- 

 able horn is quite unknown. The voice of the horned screamer is loud, shrill, 

 and uttered so suddenly and with such vehemence as to have a very start- 

 ling effect. The female is said to build her nest on the ground at the foot of 

 a tree, and to lay two eggs, resembling those of a goose. 



FAMILY V. 

 THE RAILS. RALLID/E. 



General Characteristics. — Bill more or less long, with the culmen sometimes 

 advancing on the forehead, but always curved at the apex, and the sides compressed, 

 the gonys usually ascendmg ; the nostril.^ lateral, and placed in a membranous 

 groove ; the wings moderate and generally rounded ; the tail more or less long and 

 rounded ; the tarsi long and rather slendei ; the toes mostly lengthened and slen- 

 der ; the claws short, compressed, and acute. 



This family consists of several genera of birds, most of them of 

 aquatic or semi-aquatic habits, ranging in this respect from the 



