FAMILY CRACID^E 



and thrilling of all the bird calls in the Canal 

 Zone is the tremulous whistle of this small tina- 

 mou, consisting of a varying number of plain- 

 tive silvery notes ascending with very slight 

 changes of pitch. I was told that the West 

 Indians called it the "three hour bird" and I 

 often noted this call at three in the morning, 

 nine in the night and at three in the afternoon. 

 This beautiful sound floating out from the 

 jungle at Barro Colorado at night is one of the 

 most exquisite memories of that enchanting 

 island. Another common call is two or three 

 dragging downward notes dying away in a minor 

 note. We flushed several along the sides of the 

 trails, just a whirr of wings and flash of brown. 

 More often, though, it will run off in the under 

 growth rather than fly when it is approached, 

 and were it not for its unmistakable calls, its 

 wide distribution in the Canal Zone would 

 hardly be realized. 



2. Family CRACID^ 

 The Curassows and Guans 



A small tropical American family of ar- 

 boreal birds related to the domesticated 

 fowls. They are large-winged, large-tailed, 

 noisy, turkey-like birds chiefly frequenting 

 the big trees of the old forests. They are 

 disappearing with the destruction of the 

 latter, aside from the fact that the hunting, 

 which their large size and excellent flesh in- 

 duces, brings about their scarcity in settled 



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