SERIEMAS. 



461 



webs ; and while the central pair of tail-feathers are uniform greyish brown, the 

 other eight are blackish brown with white tips and roots. The iris of the eye is 

 sulphur-yellow, the naked ring round the eye bluish, the beak coral-red, and 

 the leg reddish brown in front, and redder on the sides. The female is more 

 yellowish grey in colour, with a shorter crest on the neck. Burmeister's seriema 

 (Chunga burmeisteri), from Argentina, now generally considered to represent a 



BRAZILIAN SERIEMA. 



distinct genus, is smaller and browner, with scarcely any tuft at the base of 

 the back. 



The most remarkable feature about the Brazilian seriema is its resemblance, 

 both as regards form, carriage, and the coloration of the plumage, to the secretary- 

 vulture ; with which, as already mentioned, it has been associated by some orni- 

 thologists. If we are right in placing the bird in its present serial position, and 

 associating the secretary-vulture with the Accipitrines, it is almost impossible to 

 account for this resemblance in any satisfactory way ; the circumstance that the 



