472 



ANIMAL LIFE-HISTORIES 



of the Peewit or Lapwing ( Vanellus cristatits, fig. 993), the 

 chicks of which are exceedingly difficult to find, and when acci- 

 dentally discovered are apt to disappear in the twinkling of an 

 eye. The parent birds are adepts in the art of deceiving in- 

 quisitive strangers as to the exact whereabouts of their eggs or 

 brood. 



Remarkable arrangements exist for the safety of the young 

 in a primitive South American bird, the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus) y 



Fig. 993. Female Lapwing (Vanelhts cristatus] and Young 



which appears to be a distant relative of the Game- Birds 

 (Gallinee). Of these Headley gives the following interesting 

 account (in The Structiire and Life of Birds]'. "Apparently 

 about as large as a rather under-sized pheasant, the Hoatzin 

 is really considerably smaller; his long tail, his large wings, 

 and his crest suggest a larger bulk of body than he really 

 possesses. . . . Among the trees and bushes that form a jungle- 

 growth along the banks of the Berbice, and often overhang its 

 waters, Hoatzins are plentiful. When a boat passes they will 

 generally remain concealed among the leaves. . . . The nest 

 is formed of a few sticks intertwisted. When the birds'-nester 

 comes, cutting a way for his boat through the bushes, or wading 

 thigh-deep through the mud, the old bird makes off upon the 



