473 



ORDER IV. RASORES. 



426. THE Birds of this order are for the most part adapted 

 to a kind of life entirely different from the preceding ; being 

 destined to obtain their subsistence from the vegetable world, 

 and to pass their time upon the ground, rather than among trees, 

 or upon the wing. Their food chiefly consists of grains and 

 seeds ; to obtain this they are furnished with short, blunt, and 

 robust nails, the use of which has obtained for them the appella- 

 tion of Rasores, or Scratchers. Their bodies are for the most part 

 bulky, and their legs strong ; their powers of flight are incon- 

 siderable, their wings not being of a size proportionate to their 

 bulk; but their legs are sufficiently long to enable them to 

 walk with facility upon the ground. The beak is usually 

 arched ; and surrounded at the base with a soft skin, in 



Fro. 268. NEPAL HORN KI> TBAOOPAX. 



which the nostrils are pierced. To meet the difficulty which 

 attends the reduction of their food, they are provided with 

 a large crop and a powerful muscular gizzard (Fig. 201) ; 

 by the action of which it is prepared for the digestive pro- 

 cess. The nests of these Birds are rudely constructed ; and 

 are usually situated on the ground. Instead of associating in 



