256 VERTEBRATA. AVES. 



very strikingly resembles the half suppressed screams 

 of a person suffocating, or throttled, and cannot fail 

 of being exceedingly entertaining to a lonely be- 

 nighted traveller, in the midst of an Indian wilder- 

 ness ! " * This bird belongs to the division which 

 has two singular tufts of feathers on the head, re- 

 sembling horns, when elevated. The whole tribe 

 build a rude nest, chiefly composed of sticks, covered 

 with a bed of feathers, and usually concealed in a 

 hollow tree, or similar place. 



We know little of the relation which undoubtedly 

 exists between the colours and the instincts of 

 animals ; it seems evident, from the precision and 

 uniformity of the prevailing tints allotted to certain 

 groups, that they are not distributed at random, but 

 are as characteristic as the peculiarities of form and 

 habits. We may venture to point out what appears 

 to us a singular coincidence in this respect, between 

 the carnivorous quadrupeds and birds ; the almost 

 universal prevalence of dark spots or streaks upon a 

 yellowish ground. Even the exceptions seem to be 

 paralleled ; such as the unspotted tawny hue of the 

 Lion and the Eagle, the black and grey of the Dogs 

 and the Vultures, and the bluish grey of some of the 

 smaller Hawks and the Lynxes. f 



* Am. Orn. vol. i. p. 100. 



t When the above was written, I was not aware that the subject had 

 ever been alluded to ; but I have since had the pleasure of observing, that 

 Mr. Swainson has taken nearly the same view, in his work on the Classi- 

 fication of Quadrupeds. 



