310 BIRDS. 



Only one species is known; of a bronze-brown above, whitish- 

 grey beneath ; top of the head red — Catraca, Buff. ; Phasianus mot- 

 mot, Gm., and Phas. parraqna, Lath., Enl. 146*; Bajon, Cay. pi. 1. 

 The cry of this bird is very loud, and articulates its name. The 

 trachea descends under the skin as low as the abdomen, and then 

 ascends to enter the thorax. 



With these different Hoccos naturalists usually associate the 



OnsTHOcoMus, Hoffmanseg. — Hoazin-j-, Buff. 



The Hoazin, an American bird of similar carriage, with a short and 

 thick bill, the nostrils pierced in the horn, and destitute of membrane; 

 the head ornamented with a tuft of long and very narrow and slender fea- 

 thers, Avhich is distinguished from all the true Gallinaceje by having no 

 membrane between the base of the toes. It is the Phasianus cristatus, 

 L. ; Enl. 337; Vieill. Galer. 193; greenish-brown, variegated with white 

 above; front of the neck and tip of the tail fawni-coloured ; the belly 

 chestnut. It is found perching along the margin of inundated places in 

 Guiana, where it feeds on leaves and the seeds of a species of Arum. Its 

 flesh smells strongly of castor, and is only employed as a bait for particu- 

 lar fishes. 



Pavo, Lin. 



The Peacocks, so called from their cry, are characterised by an aigrette 

 or crest on the head, and by the coverts of the tail of the male being 

 larger than its quills, and capable of being erected so as to form a circle. 

 The shining, lax, and silky barbs of these feathers, and the ocellated spots 

 that decorate their extremities, are well kno\\-n in the 



P. cristatus, L.; Paon domesfiqne, Enl. 433 and 434. (The 

 Common Peacock). A species in which the head is ornamented 

 with an aigrette of vertical feathers widened at the tip. This su- 

 perb bird, originally from the north of India, was introduced into 

 Europe by Alexander. Its magnificent plumage is even surpassed 

 in brilliancy by that of the wild ones. A rich blue supersedes the 

 gold-green specks along their back and on their wings; their tail 

 also is more plentifully furnished with feathers. 



The Pavo spiciferus, improperly styled by LinnjBUS P. muticus, 

 for it also has spurs, is a distinct species. The feathers of its ai- 

 grette are long and narrow; its neck is not blue, but green, watered 

 and gilt; the tail almost as magnificent as that of the common s^pe- 

 cies;;]:. Vieill. Galer. 202; Shaw, Nat. Misc. 641. Another species. 



♦ N.B. The fig. in the PI. Enl. is bad, inasmuch as it represents the tail pointed. 



f This tenn was applied to the above bird by Biiffon, without any proof, from an 

 indication of Hernandez, Mex. 320, ch. 10. 



Vieill. Galer. 193, calls it flasa cristaia, and improperly represents the bill as 

 notched near its commissure. It forms a genus very distinct from that of any other 

 of the Gallinaceae, and when its anatomy is known, may become the type of a parti- 

 cular family. 



X It was only known, for a long time, by a bad drawing from Japan, in the six- 

 teenth century (Aldrov. II, av. 33, 34), but Messrs. Duvaucel and Diard having sent 

 several of the birds from Sumatra to France, M. Vieillot has given his figure from 

 them. 



