224, NATURAL HISTORY. 



mediate in some respects between the Carinate birds and the Struthious birds (Kcititce). They may 

 briefly be described as game-like birds, having the bones of the skull like the Struthiones, but 

 having a keeled sternum, which places them in the Carinate series. 



The Tinamous are strictly neotropical in their habitat, and do not occur away from the South 

 American region. The body is thick and the head small, the bill is slender, a little shorter than the 

 head itself, gently curved and depressed, the tail small and often concealed by the coverts, the wings 

 short and rounded. About forty species of Tinamous are known to science at present, and these 

 are divided into nine genera. Many of the birds are found only in forests, while others, on the 

 contrary, frequent open grass-lands, and have the habits of the European Quails. The eggs are very 

 striking in their coloration, being sometimes of a very deep purplish shade, whilst in some instances 

 they are bluish-green ; the texture is always smooth and very glossy, and when once seen a Tinamou's 

 egg can hardly be mistaken. On the ground these birds run with great rapidity, and seldom 

 endeavour to save themselves by flight, while their intelligence appears to be of a low order, and 

 when suddenly alarmed they seem to become stupefied with fear. On such occasions, as we are in- 

 formed by Mr. Darwin, a man on horseback, riding round and round them so as to narrow the circle 

 each time, may knock over as many as he pleases, but the usual way to capture them is by means of 

 a small lasso or running noose, made of an ostrich feather fastened to the end of a stick ; and a boy 

 thus armed and riding on a horse has been known to secure as many as forty in a day. The Tinamous 

 are much appreciated as articles of food, and they have on this account been much harried, so that 

 species which were once common in some countries have now to be sought for at long distances from 

 their former haunts. This has been the case with the Tataupa (Crypturus tataupa), in the neighbour- 

 hood of Buenos Ayres, and the late Mr. Durnford stated that it was not to be met with within a 

 hundred miles of that city. This species, according to the late Prince Maximilian of Neuwied, 

 prefers open quarters to forest land, and runs with great speed over the gi-ound. Towards evening it 

 utters a very peculiar cry, consisting of two long-sustained notes, followed by six or eight of the same 

 tone, but short and quickly repeated. The species of Nothura are more Quail-like in their habits, and 

 have been designated by some authors the American Quails. Of the N. maculosa, near Buenos 

 Ayres, Mr. Durnford writes that it is resident and abundant wherever the rough paja-grass or thistles 

 afford any cover. It also frequents fields of maize or other cereals in considerable numbers. On a 

 Sunday or holiday it is a curious sight to watch the " sportsmen " of various nationalities flocking to 

 the different railway stations to have a day's " perdiz " shooting. The dogs impressed into their 

 service are, like their masters, of various breeds from a Bull-terrier to a Pointer it being considered 

 of primary importance to be accompanied by some specimen of the canine race. When collecting in 

 the Chuput Valley in Patagonia, the same naturalist fell in with the Elegant Tinamou (Calodromas 

 elegans), which he found common in the valley and on the hills in very dry spots. It nests under the 

 shelter of a small bush, and after scraping a slight hollow in the ground, lines it with a few fragments 

 of grass and feathers, laying sometimes as many as ten eggs. The remarkable character of these, of a. 

 uniform pea-green colour, with a highly polished appearance, is well known. About dusk these birds, 

 come from the shelter of the long grass or bushes, where they have lain during the day to feed; and 

 at that time they can be heard calling to each other in every direction. Their note is a loud and oft- 

 repeated whistle, uttered in a low key. 



DIVISION II THE STRUTHIOUS BIRDS (RATIT.E). 



The characters which distinguish the Ratitce from the Carinate birds, or Carinalce, were briefly 

 alluded to at the commencement of the present article,* and consist chiefly in the absence of a 

 keel to the sternum, which is therefore raft-like. The Struthious birds are amongst the largest of 

 the class, and are entirely terrestrial in their habits, not one of them being able to fly, though 

 they make up for this deficiency by an extremely swift power of running, and in some of the 

 species the tiny wings are elevated so as to form a kind of sail, which helps the bird along, when 

 fleeing from danger. A good idea of the speed at which these birds can go is given in Mr. Smelt's 

 description of the chase of a Rhea, or South American Ostrich (fthea americami), on the pampas, 



* Vol. III., p. 230. 



