Biubs. 1 25 



Next to the peacock, tlicy are the most beautiful of birds, n» 

 well for the vivid colour of their plumes, as for their huppj 

 mixtures and variety. It is far beyond the power of the pencil 

 to draw any thing so glossy, so bright, or points so finely blended 



legs are reddish brown. In the young bird the horny [irocess of the bill is 

 enialler, and lees intoiisely red. 



It lias not yet been attompted to naturalize the present species in thif 

 quarter of the globe ; but its flesh, according to Marcgrave, in wliatevei 

 mode prepared, but especially when roasted, yields to that of no bird, either 

 of Kurope or America, He adds that it is domesticated and cultivated by 

 the gentry of Brazil, on account of both it3 dignity and elegance. 



The Guan is of the same family with the Curassows, and closely allied to 

 those birds both in structure and general appearance. It is nevertheless 

 distinguished by several remarkable peculiarities. The bill is much shal- 

 lower, its transverse diameter exceeding its depth, somewhat elongated, 

 and naked at the base ; the nostrils are placed about the middle of the bill, 

 and are not at all concealed by the advancement of the feathers of the head ; 

 a naked space surrounds the eyes ; the skin of the throat is destitute of fea- 

 thers, and capable of considerable distension ; the claws are strong, curved, 

 and pointed ; and the liinder toe is articulated on the same level A\ath the 

 anterior ones, and consequently applies its whole length to the surface of 

 the ground. As in the other genera of the family, the bill is convex above 

 and curved at the point ; the legs are of moderate length and without spurs ; 

 the wings short, with the sixth quill-feather longest; and the tail flat, 

 rounded at the extremity, and formed of twelve bri>ad feathers. 



From its long domestication in the poultry yards of South America, it is 

 subject to very extensive variations. It is the largest bird of the genus that 

 has yet been discovered, measuring when fully grown about tliirty inches 

 in total length, of which the tail constitutes tliirteen or fourteen. The 

 whole upper surface of the body is of a dusky black or bronze colour with 

 a gloss of green, wliich becomes olive in certain positions with regard to 

 light. 



Like most of the birds of this family, the Guan is remarkable for the cir. 

 cuitous course of its wind-pipe before entering the cavity of the chest. It 

 /las also some peculiarities in the structure of its upper larynx, wliich are 

 well described by M. Temminck in his natiual lustory of Gallinaceous Birds, 

 published at Amsterdam in 1815. 



The maimers of the Guan have little to distinguish them from those of the 

 Curassows. Although to all appearance equally capable of domestication, 

 they have not yet been introduced into Europe in equal numbers ^vith the lat- 

 ter birds, nor has the same success attended the attempts to propagate them it 

 this quarter of the globe. We are told, however, by M. Temminck, that 

 the proprietor of a Menagerie in the neighbourhood of Utrecht had bred 

 them for several years ; and there can be little doubt that with proper care 

 and attention these birds might be added to the stock of our domesticated 

 fowls. They are spoken of as furnishing an excellent dish for the table. 

 In a wild state they inhabit Guiana and Brazil, and perhaps extend still 

 further to the north. Their food consists principally of seeds and fruits, 

 which they search for and cat upon the ground; but the greater part of 



l3 



