Papular SKctumari? of fttumatett Mature, 663 



the BRUSH TURKEY-, and, as we remarked at 

 the beginning, it is to the Ilasorial order, 

 and not the Raptorial, that this singularly 

 interesting genus belongs : in the same 

 family with it are birds with similar habits. 

 [See MEGAPODIUS and LEIPOA.J 



TALPA : TALPID^E. [See MOLE.] 

 TAMANDUA. [See ANT-KATER.] 



TANAGRA. A group of birds of which 

 there are several genera, and numerous spe- 

 cies, all peculiar to America, and which are ; 

 conspicuous for their brilliant colours. They | 

 have a conical beak and short wings ; re- 

 presenting the Finches, &c. of Europe and 

 Asia in their conformation and habits, aud 

 in the nature of their food. 



TANTALUS : TANTALID^E. The Tan- 

 talidce are a family of Wading Birds, the 

 chief of which inhabit tropical latitudes, 

 living almost entirely on the swampy banks 

 of rivers and lakes. The genus Tantalus 

 greatly partakes of the character of the 

 Storks and Herons, and is characterized by I 

 Cuvier as having the feet, the nostrils and 

 the bill of a stork ; but the back of the bill, 

 he observes, is rounded, and its point curved 

 downwards and slightly notched on each 

 side ; a portion of the head, and sometimes 

 of the neck, being denuded of feathers. 

 It includes the American Scarlet Ibis (Ibia 

 rubra\ of which the following is a descrip- 

 tion. Length twenty-three inches : bill 

 five inches long, thick, and of a somewhat 

 square form at the base, gradually bent 

 downwards, and sharply ridged ; black, ex- 

 cept near the base, where it inclines to red. 



Iris dark hazel. The face naked, slightly 

 wrinkled, pale red. Chin bare, wrinkled 

 also. Plumage rich, glowing scarlet, ex- 

 cept about three inches of the extremities 

 of the four outer quill-feathers, which are 

 deep steel blue. Legs pale red ; the three 

 anterior toes united by a membrane as far 

 as the first joint. " This brilliant and ex- 

 clusively American species," says Nuttall, 

 in his ' Ornithology of the United States,' 

 &c., inhabits chiefly within the tropics, 

 abounding in the West India and Bahama 

 Islands, and south of the equator, at least as 

 far as Brazil. They migrate in the course 

 of the summer (about July and August) into 



Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and South Ca- 

 rolina ; but retire into Mexico, or the Carib- 

 bean islands, at the approach of cool weather. 

 They generally associate in numbers, fre- 

 quenting the borders of the sea, and the 

 banks and actuaries of neighbouring rivers, 

 feeding on small fry, shell-fish, Crustacea, 

 worms, and insects, which they collect at 

 the ebbing of the tide. They arc said to be 

 in the habit of perching on trees in com- 

 panies ; but they lay their eggs, which are 

 greenish, on the ground, amidst the tall grass 

 of the marshes, on a slight nest of leaves. 

 When just hatched, the young are black, 

 soon changing to gray, but are nearly white 

 before they are able to fly ; by degrees they 

 attain their red plumage, which is not com- 

 plete until the third year. The young and old 

 associate in distinct bands. In the countries 

 where they abound, they are sometimes do- i 

 mesticated, and accompany the poultry. | 

 The Ibis shows great courage in attacking 

 the fowls, and will even defend itself from 

 the insidious attacks of the cat. It is gene- { 

 rally esteemed as good food ; and its rich i 

 and gaudy plumage is used by the Bra- i 

 zilians for various ornaments." [See IBIS.] 



TANYSTOMA. The name of a group \ 

 of Dipterous insects, comprehending those 

 which have a projecting proboscis, with the 

 last joint of the antennae undivided. 

 TAPE- WORM. [SeeT.fiNiA.] 

 TAPIR. The name of a genus of Pachy- 

 dermatous quadrupeds, of which three spe- 

 cies are at present known ; two of them being 

 natives of South America, whilst the other 

 inhabits Sumatra and Malacca. In its gene- | 

 ral form and contour, the Tapir reminds us 

 of the Hog ; but it is sufficiently distinguished 

 from that animal by its snout, which is 

 lengthened into a flexible proboscis, that 

 looks like the rudiment of the trunk of the 

 elephant, and partly serves the same pur- 



vrs.) 



pose. The anterior feet have four toes, but 

 the posterior only three ; and these have 

 only their tips cased in small hoofs. The 

 eyes are small and lateral, and the cars long 

 and pointed. The incisor teeth are six in j 

 number ; the canines small ; and the molars j 

 are seven on each side of the upper jaw, i 

 and six in the lower. The common AMEKI- i 

 CAV TAPIR (Tapir Americanos) is the largest 

 animal of South America, and is found in 

 all parts of that continent, though most 

 abundant in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. 



3 L 2 



