130 NATURAL HISTORY. 



say, during the months of March, April, and May. They are very fond of rolling themselves in the 

 dust, like game-birds in general. Their principal food consists of small worms, various seeds, and wild 

 fruits. The males commence to seek the females from the month of January, and the time of love 

 lasts until the end of March. The males are heard calling out in the woods with a loud and strong 



o O 



cry, and uttering a sound which can be best described as baoum-baoum. At this season the pursuit 

 of the Hocco becomes very easy, the reason being that with them their amatory desires are much 

 greater than their instinct of preservation, so much so that they lose all foresight, allow themselves to 

 be approached closely, and do not trouble themselves much about what is passing around them. 

 Sometimes several males surround a female and do not desert her even though they perceive the 

 hunter. When we come across one of these little groups collected together in the cause of love, were 

 it possible to kill the female at the first blow, it would be seen that the males rarely take flight ; on the 

 contrary, they remain in a state of stupor at the side of the body of the female, and do not disperse 

 till another discharge attacks them. The little fear that man inspires in these game-birds is, without 

 doubt, the reason they are so easily tamed. I can never understand why this bird is not an inhabi- 

 tant of the poultry-yard like the Turkey, for it is certainly suited for a domestic state, and the adults, 

 although taken wild, soon become tame ; the young ones carried away from the nest, or hatched by the 

 mother bird, become as familiar as chickens, and even more so, as they allow themselves to be caressed, 

 and even take their food from the hand of man. It must be that the natives have found the Turkey, 

 which is a bigger bird, sufficient for their wants, or discovered that the Hocco does not multiply easily 

 under the conditions of a domestic life. This bird builds its nest on the trees, and is never very pro- 

 ductive. In March the couple construct on a high tree a thick nest of twigs ; the female deposits 

 only two eggs, which she takes about a month to hatch. The little ones, once hatched, do not leave 

 their nest till they know how to fly, as likewise do the game-birds, who nest on the ground, but the 

 parents bring them worms and insects. As soon as they begin to know how to use their wings, which 

 is about the end of April, the whole family goes off to seek their fortune, and in quest of ripe fruits, 

 such as chicazapoles, and different kinds of oranges, &c. Wild oranges seem to have a special attraction 

 for them, and in the narianjules, or places in the forests where the tree grows which bears them, the 

 Hocco is generally to be found. In the same forests in hot countries where the Hocco is met with live 

 also the Penelopes, who are even still more common : these are named Cojolites by the Indians. Their 

 manners much resemble those of the Hocco ; they make their nest and follow the incubation in the same 

 manner ; they, however, sometimes lay three eggs. They live also in large companies, are more mis- 

 trustful, pei'ch more, and utter a great many cries. During the day these birds keep themselves in the 

 interior of the forests looking for fruits ; morning and evening they approach the border of the woods, 

 crying out very loudly, and several at a time ; it is on this account the Spaniards call them Squalling 

 Pheasant. The flesh of the Penelopes is more tender, less dry than that of the Hocco, and, for this 

 reason, esteemed more choice. It is said that their bones, cooked or raw, are a poison for dogs. I must, 

 however, say I have never been able to prove the truth of this surprising fact. To the species Penelopes 

 should be also added another called by the Indians ' Tchitchalaque,' which is found in still greater 

 abundance. This one also lives in families, leads the same kind of life, and is still less fierce. It is to be 

 feared that all kinds of these game-birds will end gradually by growing very scarce, for the excellence 

 of their flesh as food will make them a constant prey to the hunter ; and this will be more the case as 

 the Continent of America becomes populated. The facility with which they are shot, joined to 

 their slight increase, will form a rapid cause for their destruction in the future, happily still distant, 

 when the grand foi-ests will disappear from Mexican soil." 



The third sub-family of the Curassows contains only the single genus Oreophasis, represented in 

 its turn by only one species, the Mountain Curassow (Oreophasis derbianus), an inhabitant of 

 Guatemala, in Central America. In the latter country it is very rare, and confined to narrow limits, 

 being found on the mountains between 7,000 and 11,000 feet above the sea-level. The first specimen 

 was in the collection of the fourteenth Earl of Derby, after whom it was named. 



THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE GAME-BIRDS THE HOATZIXS (Op'uthocomidai). 

 The position of the singular bird, which is the sole representative of this family, has been a source 

 of some speculation with systematic naturalists, but since its osteology and general anatomy have 



