CARUNCULATED GROUND PIGEON. 219 



theirs, as also by the nature and texture of its plu- 

 mage ; but it differs from them, in possessing a 

 naked red wattle, which hangs pendant below the 

 bill, in having more elongated tarsi, a rounded body, 

 and less graceful form, by the manner in which it 

 carries its tail, which is pendant like that of the Par- 

 tridge, and lastly, by its rounded wings ; characters, 

 he adds, which, by bringing it near to the true Gal- 

 linae, naturally place it between the Pigeons and 

 these birds, as if to mark and form the passage be- 

 tween the two groups. It builds its nest upon the 

 ground in some slight depression, making it of twigs 

 and the stems of dried grasses, upon which the fe- 

 male deposits from six to eight reddish- white eggs, 

 which are incubated alternately by both sexes. The 

 young, which are evolved from the shell clothed 

 with a reddish-grey down, are immediately able to 

 run about and follow their parents, which conduct 

 and keep them together by a constant and peculiar 

 cry, arid which brood over them with extended wings, 

 either to protect them from the chilly airs of night, 

 or to shelter them from the burning ardour of a mid- 

 day sun. Their first nutriment consists of the larvae 

 of ants and dead insects, as well as worms, which 

 are shewn to them by their parents, and which they 

 alone devour. As they gain strength, they begin 

 to look for their own food, and soon learn to pick 

 up all sorts of grain, berries, insects, &c. They con- 

 tinue, however, associated in coveys like the Par- 

 tridge and other Tetraonidse, until nature again 



