CLASS AVES 



597 



oped. In size they range from a length of six inches to that of 



the rufous or great tinamou, Rhynchotus rufescens (Fig. 483), 



of Brazil, which is fourteen inches long. Tinamous are solitary 



birds, but may band together into coveys. They make a nest 



by scratching a hollow 



in the earth and lining ^^5^ 



it with grasses, leaves, 



and feathers. The 



eggs number from five 



to a dozen or more 



to a setting; they are 



incubated by the ^^&!>5E-, 



male. 



Fig. 483. — Great tinamou, Rhyn- Fig. 484. — Moa, Palapteryx elephan- 

 chotus rufescens. (From Evans.) topus. (From Zittel, after Owen.) 



Order 7. Dinornithiformes. — Moas (Fig. 484). — The moas 

 have probably become extinct within the past five hundred years. 

 The remains of these peculiar birds have been found in great 

 numbers in caves and refuse heaps in New Zealand, to which 

 country they appear to have been confined. Twenty or thirty 

 species are known from these remains. They ranged in size from 



