CURASSOWS. 



Curassow as completely as our ancestors have 

 done the equally exotic, and, in their wild state, 

 much less familiar, breeds of the Turkey, the 

 Guinea-fowl, and the Peacock. Their introduc- 

 tion would certainly be most desirable, not merely 

 on account of their size and beauty, but also for 

 the whiteness and excellence of their flesh, which 

 is said by those who have eaten of it to surpass 

 that of the Guinea-fowl 01 of the Pheasant in the 

 delicacy of its flavour." * 



GENUS CRAX. (LiNN.) 



The beak in the genus before us, is of moder- 

 ate length, very high at the base, thick, keeled 

 above, curving downward to^/the point ; the base 

 surrounded by a membrane, sometimes brightly 

 coloured, in which the nostrils are pierced. The 

 space between the beak and the eyes is naked; 

 the head is covered with a crest of long erected 

 feathers, which are singularly curled over at their 

 tips. The tail, which consists of fourteen feathers, 

 is broad, spread out, and inclined downwards. The 

 wings are short, the sixth quill the longest. 



The common Crested Curassow (Crax alector, 

 LINN.) is a native of Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil. 

 In the forests of Guiana, M. Sonnini speaks of it 

 as so abundant as to form an unfailing resource of 

 the traveller who has to trust to his gun for a 

 supply of food. They are described as congregating 

 in numerous flocks, allowing the intrusion of man 

 without much alarm. In the neighbourhood of 

 cultivated districts they have learned distrust by 

 experience. It is proper to observe, however, 



* Gardens and Menag. ii. 



