PSOPHIA. BIRDS. 281 



ORDER XI. ALECTORIDES. 



Bill shorter than the head, or of the same length ; strong, ro- 

 bust ; upper mandible convex, and often hooked at the point ; 

 tarsus long and slender ; three toes before and one behind, 

 the hind toe articulated higher up than those before. 



This order, established by Temminck, is composed, with the exception of one, of 

 exotic species. This author arranges the genera which compose it into those which 

 frequent the open country and those which inhabit the banks of streams. The for- 

 mer inhabit deserts, where they are continually in pursuit of reptiles and lizards ; 

 and the latter feed chiefly on insects and worms. 



Gen. 1. PSOPHIA, Lin. 



Bill short, conical, curved, much bent at the tip ; upper man- 

 dible longer than the under ; the nasal furrow wide and ex- 

 tended ; nostrils near the middle of the bill, wide, diagonal, 

 closed behind by a naked membrane ; legs long and slender, 

 the middle and external toe united, the internal separated ; 

 hind toe articulated interiorly, and on a level with the others ; 

 wings short and concave ; tail very short. 



P. crepitans, Lin. Golden-breasted Agami or Trumpeter. Gene- 

 ral plumage black ; back gray ; breast blue, with a green gloss ; 

 orbits naked and red ; feathers of the head and neck short and 

 downy, those of the lower part of the neck squamiform, of the 

 shoulders ferruginous, lax, pendulous, and silky ; scapulars long 

 and pendant. 22 inches long. S. America. Shaw, xiv. 318. 



Gen. 2. DICHOLOPHUS, Illig. Lophorhynchus 9 Vieil\. Pala- 

 medea, Lath. 



Bill longer than the head, thick, arched, cleft to under the 

 eyes, depressed at the base, compressed at the tip, which is a 

 little hooked; nasal furrow large ; nostrils small, covered with 

 a membrane ; legs long and slender ; toes very short and 

 thick, the anterior ones united at the base by a membrane, 

 the hind toe articulated to the tarsus, and not touching the 

 ground ; claws short and strong ; wings spineless. 



D. cristatus, Illig. (Palamedea cristata, Lath.) Crested Dicholo- 

 phus. Feathers of the body and of the upper part of the head 

 white ; those of the neck, throat, and breast whitish-brown, long, 

 with very feeble shafts, and lax webs. Brazil. Shaw, xii. pi. 34. 

 This bird, the only one of the genus, frequents the outskirts of dry and elevated 



forests, and particularly stony hills, feeding chiefly on terrestrial reptiles and insects. 



Gen. 3. GLAREOLA, Briss. 



Bill short, convex, compressed towards the tip ; upper mandi- 

 ble curved from the half of its length ; nostrils basal, lateral, 

 and obliquely cleft ; legs feathered to the knee ; tarsi long and 

 slender, the middle toe united to the outer by a short mem- 



