SHEATH-BILLS. 243 



" On hearing the call of the cock, the hens, 

 whose cry in some degree resembles the croak of 

 the Raven, or rather, perhaps, the sound gock, 

 gock, gock, assemble from all parts of the sur- 

 rounding forest. The male bird now descends, 

 from the eminence on which he was perched, to 

 the ground, where he and his female friends join 

 company." 



FAMILY V. CHIONIDID^:. 



(SheathrbiUs.) 



Of this Family we possess but little informa- 

 tion. It is extremely limited in extent, consist- 

 ing of a few species inhabiting the high moun- 

 tains or dry plains of South America, or the 

 remotest parts of the Southern Ocean. They 

 resemble the Grouse, but have the nostrils sur- 

 rounded by a sort of sheath. The typical genus 

 Chionis is often found far out at sea, but chiefly 

 inhabits the rocks washed by the tide, feeding on 

 sea-weeds and shells ; hence they have been placed 

 by some naturalists with the wading-birds. 



GENUS CHIONIS. (FoRST.) 



The beak, in the two species which constitute 

 this genus, is strong, broad at the base, but com- 

 pressed near the tip, with the culmen curving 

 downward ; the base is encased in a horny sub- 

 stance, furrowed and notched, which conceals the 

 nostrils. The cheeks are covered with a naked 

 skin. The wings are moderate, the second quill 

 longest, the shoulder armed with a tubercle. The 



