686 



of 



cies, all natives of South America. Their 

 flight is low, heavy, and of little duration, 

 but they run swiftly. They live in small 

 scattered coveys ; some species residing in 

 the open fields, while others prefer the 

 borders of woods. Their eggs are deposited 

 in a hole or furrow ready formed on the 

 ground ; and two broods are usually pro- 

 duced in the year. Birds of this genus are 

 remarkable for a long and slender neck, 

 covered with feathers, the tips of the barbs 

 of which are slender and slightly curled, 

 which imparts a peculiar air to that part of 

 their plumage. The beak is long, slender, 

 and blunt at the end ; somewhat vaulted, 

 with a small groove at each side. Their 

 wings are short, and they have scarcely any 

 tail. The membrane between the base of 

 their toes is very short ; and their hind 

 claw, reduced to a spur, cannot touch the 

 ground. Their size varies from that of a 

 Pheasant down to that of a Quail. 



The GREAT TINAMOU (Tinamus Brasi- 

 Ztensis) is eighteen inches long ; and the 

 general colour of the plumage grayish-brown, 

 inclining to olive, with a mixture of white 

 underneath and on the sides, and of green- 

 ish on the neck : upper part of the back, 

 wing-coverts, and tail, marked with dusky 

 transverse spots : sides of the head, throat, 

 and fore-part of the neck, not well clothed 

 with feathers. The tail is short ; the beak 

 black ; and the legs yellowish-brown, the 

 hind part of them very rough and scaly. 

 This species inhabits the great forests of 

 Guiana, and roosts upon the lower branches 

 of trees, two or three feet from the ground. 

 The female lays from twelve to fifteen eggs, 

 the size of those of a hen, and of a beautiful 

 green colour, in a nest formed of moss and 

 dried leaves, and placed on the ground, 

 among the thick herbage, near the root of 

 some large tree. The young run after the 

 mother almost as soon as hatched, and hide 

 themselves on the least appearance of danger. 

 Their cry, which is a kind of dull whistle, is 

 heard every evening at sunset, and again at 

 sunrise ; and so well do the natives imitate 

 it, that the birds are easily decoyed within 

 reach of the gun : they also take many during 

 the night, while roosting on the trees. Their 

 food consists of various fruits and grain, 

 worms, and insects j and their flesh is highly 

 esteemed. 



The RUFESCENT TINAMOU. (Tinamus 

 rufescens.) This bird, the most beautiful of 

 the genus, is fifteen inches and a half in 

 length. The top of the head is spotted with 

 black, and bordered with rufous : the shoul- 

 ders, back, wing-coverts, and rump are gray 

 with a reddish shade, and transversely 

 striped with black and white : the quills, the 

 outer border of the wing, and the spurious 

 wing are rusty red : the throat is white ; the 

 neck, breast, and belly are rufous, the last 

 slightly striped transversely with fuscous 

 the abdomen and sides are of a gray hue, 

 varied with stripes of rufous and black. The 

 beak is long, strongly curved, and of a brown 

 blue : the feet are pale red. It resides among | 

 thick herbage, and feeds night and morning, j 

 when it regularly utters its melancholy and | 



feeble cry. The female deposits seven eggs 

 of a fine bright violet hue, in a hollow, situ- 

 ated beneath tufts of grass ; and the young 

 reside within a short distance of each other, 

 and not in families. This is the species of 

 which Mr. Darwin speaks, in his description 

 of the country around Maldonado : " We 

 everywhere saw great numbers of partridges 

 (Tinamus rufescetis). These birds do not go 

 in coveys, nor do they conceal themselves 

 like the English kind. It appears a very 

 silly bird. A man on horseback, by riding 

 roiind and round in a circle, or rather in a 

 spire, so as to approach closer each time, 

 may knock on the head as many as he pleases. 

 The more common method is to catch them 

 with a running noose or little lazo, made of 

 the stem of an ostrich's feather, fastened to 

 the end of a long stick. A boy on a quiet 

 old horse will frequently thus catch thirty 

 or forty in a day. The flesh of this bird, 

 when cooked, is delicately white." 



TINCA. [See TENCH-] 



TINEIDJE. A family of Lepidoptera, 

 comprising an extensive series of minute 

 insects, distinguished by their narrow wings 

 and the slenderness of their palpi ; the head 

 is often densely clothed with scales in front, 

 and the body is generally long and slender ; 

 the antennae are of moderate length, either 

 simple in both sexes, or pubescent beneath 

 in the males ; the maxillary palpi are well 

 developed, and, although occasionally short, 

 are sometimes extraordinarily developed ; 

 the wings are entire, often very narrow, and 

 mostly convoluted in repose ; and when at 

 rest the posterior pair are much folded. The 

 larvse are generally naked or slightly hairy; 

 many undergoing their transformations in 

 portable cases formed of various materials ; 

 whilst others reside either within the stalks 

 or upon the leaves of plants. In the perfect 

 state, they are of a sombre hue rather than 

 of a bright metallic appearance, their longi- 

 tudinal markings or streaks being conspicu- 

 ous. In the larva state they are notoriously 

 destructive to woollen materials of every 

 description, feathers, furs, skins, &c., upon 

 which they feed ; using the material also 

 for the construction of their cases ; in which, 

 when full grown, they become chrysalides. 

 The species included in the genus Gnlleria 

 inhabit the nests of bees, the larvse feeding 

 upon honey, and forming galleries in the 

 honeycomb. Others make great havoc in 

 granaries and malthouses : and one, Diatrcea 

 sacchari, is a most destructive pest of the 

 sugar-cane in the West Indies, the larva 

 burrowing into the centre of the stems, and 

 often destroying whole acres. 



TIPITLA : TIPULID^E. A genus and 

 family of Dipterous insects, distinguished by 

 the proboscis being very short, its internal 

 organs slightly developed, and terminated 

 by two large fleshy lips ; the palpi longer 

 than the proboscis, four-jointed, and gene- 

 rally folded back. The body is long and 

 slender, as also are the legs ; the head is 

 rather small, the antennae are very variable 

 in length ; and the alulets are mostly obso- 

 lete. The larger species appear tc be the 



