MR. HUDSON'S OBSERVATIONS 



dull earth. But curiously enough, in view of the fact 

 that in nature the coat seems to be invariably cut accord- 

 ing to the cloth, the amount of aeration is not precisely 

 correspondent with the capacity for flight. So thoroughly 

 is the body of the screamer lightened in this way that 

 when the skin is pressed it absolutely crackles with 

 exploding bubbles. The chauna, however, though 

 largely a ground bird, can fly and soar to a great height. 

 Mr. W. H. Hudson described it as circling upwards like 

 the lark and uttering continuously its melodious sounds 

 from the topmost air. The visitor will perhaps hardly 

 agree with the author of that delightful and instructive 

 work, The Naturalist in la Plata in considering the 

 screams of the chauna as tuneful ; but Mr. Hudson asserts 

 that in captivity the original melody is lost ; and in any 

 case a distance and rarefied air may produce a softening 

 of the ear-piercing-shrieks of the captive bird more 

 reminiscent of the lark than one is disposed to admit 

 after a visit to the Zoo. For when a pair of these birds, 

 aided by the friendly rivalry of the cariama, the other 

 screamer, really lay themselves out for a prolonged 

 conversation, the noise is almost insupportable. Far 

 out in the wilds of Regent's Park this awful din can 

 be heard, farther away than any of the multitudinous 

 sounds inherent in the menagerie. The Palamedea 

 differs in a number of points from Chauna. The most 

 striking unlikeness is in its possession of a single and 

 small horn upon the forehead. It cannot be very ser- 

 viceable either for defensive or offensive purposes, on 

 account of its weakness and flexibility. Besides, if 

 Palamedea, or for that matter Chauna too, feel any 

 desire for aggression, and they often do, each wing has 

 a hard and exceedingly serviceable horny outgrowth 

 with which a formidable wound can be inflicted. These 

 latter spurs are found in some other birds, for instance 

 in the appropriately named " Spur- winged Goose." 



