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THE DODO AND THE CRESTED CURASSOW. 



for the sake of the stones in their stomachs, these being fonnrl very 

 efficacious in sharpening their clasp-knives. The nest of the Dodo was 



a mere heap of fallen 

 leaves gathered to- 

 gether on the ground, 

 and the bird laid but 

 one large egg. The 

 weight of one full- 

 grown Dodo was said 

 to be between forty 

 and fifty pounds. 

 The color of the 

 plumage was a gray- 

 ish brown in the adult 

 males, not unlike that 

 of the ostrich, while 

 the plumage of the 

 females was of a 

 paler hue. 



The Dodo (Bidic, inepim). Leaving the Pig- 



eons, we now come to the large and important order of birds termed 

 scientifically the Gallinse, and, more popularly, the Poultry. Some- 

 times they are termed Rasores, or "scrapers," from their habit of 

 scraping up the ground in search of food. To this order belong our 



domestic poultry, the grouse, 

 partridges, and quails, the 

 turkeys, pheasants, and many 

 other useful and interesting 

 birds. 



Our first example of these 

 birds is the Crested Curas- 

 sow, the representative of 

 the genus Crax, in which are 

 to be found a number of truly 

 splendid birds. All the Cu- 

 rassows are natives of tropical 

 America, and are found al- 

 most wholly in the forests. 



The Crested Curassow in- 

 habits the thickly-wooded dis- 

 tricts of Guiana, Mexico, and 

 Brazil, and is very plentifully 

 found in those countries. It is a really handsome bird, nearly as large 

 as the turkey, and more imposing in form and color. It is gregarious 



y _, 



The Crested Curassow (C'/ax Ahttor) 



