260 AVES. 



Order 3. GALLINACEI ^.RA 



Terrestrial birds of medium and sometimes considerable size, of 

 stout build, ivith short, rounded wings, strong beak, usually arched and 

 bent downwards at the point, and ivith powerful feet adapted for 

 percldng (p. insidentes], usually prcecoces. 



The Gallinacei possess in general a stout body with thick plumage, 

 small head and powerful beak, short or moderately long neck, usually 

 short and rounded wings, legs of medium length and well-developed 

 tail, composed of numerous rectrices. There are often naked places 

 on the head, as well as erectile combs and cutaneous folds (wattles), 

 the latter principally as distinctions of the male sex. The beak is 

 usually short, broad and high, and is characterized both by the over- 

 lapping cutting edges and by the depressed extremity of the upper 

 beak. Its base is soft and membranous, and covered with feathers, 

 among which a membranous or cartilaginous scale projects over the 

 nasal apertures. The plumage of the Gallinacei is close and stiff, 

 and often beautifully marked and ornamented with rich colours and 

 a metallic lustre (male). The tail quills are usually more than 

 twelve in number, and there may be as many as eighteen or twenty. 

 The wings are as a rule short and rounded, with ten primary remiges 

 and twelve to eighteen secondary. The flight, therefore, is clumsy : 

 only the Pteroclidce fly quickly and with skilful turnings. The legs 

 are powerful and short, or of medium length ; they are usually 

 feathered as far as the foot- joint, rarely up to the toes. There is 

 often a sharp spur, which serves as a weapon, on the metatarsus of 

 the male above the hind toe, which is articulated high up. The 

 Gallinacei live for the most part on the ground, either in forests or 

 in fields, on grassy plains from high mountains down to the sea coast. 

 They are good runners, and seek their food on the ground, feeding 

 specially on berries, buds and seeds, also on insects and worms. They 

 form their rude nests for the most part on the surface of the ground, 

 or in low bushes ; more rarely on high trees, and lay a great num- 

 ber of eggs. As a rule the cock lives with a number of hens, and 

 takes no part either in the building of the nest or in the care of the 

 brood. The young are for the most part prcecoces. The hens are 

 easily domesticated, and on account of their eggs and their well- 

 flavoured flesh, have been made useful as domestic animals from the 

 earliest times. 



Fam. Penelopidae. Large, long-legged Gallinacei, with well-developed remiges 

 and long, rounded tail, resembling the three-toed Ostrich in the structure of the 



