GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 



equal size, and terminated by numerous brilliant circles of metal- 

 lic splendour. The female is destitute of this ornament, the richness 

 and beauty of which are beyond description. 



The Guinea Fowls, or Pintadoes (Nwnida), have the head naked 

 and provided with fleshy wattles on the lower part of the cheeks ; 

 their skull is likewise generally surmounted by a callous crest. Their 

 feet are without spurs, and their tail is short and pendent. The 

 Guinea Fowls, as their name implies, are of African origin ; they live 

 in numerous troops under bushes and in copses, where they find 

 berries and small snails, on which they feed. 



The Pheasants (Phasianus) have the cheeks around the eyes 

 covered by a red skin, or by very short feathers ; their tail is long 



FlG. 369. HASTINGS'S TRAPOGAN, ARGUS PHEASANT, AND CUOWNED PIGEON. 



and narrow, with the feathers arranged in two planes that overlap 

 each other, the middle ones being considerably the longest. They 

 are all natives of Asia, and seem to increase in beauty as we go 

 further east, until in China we find the beautiful Gold and Silver 

 Pheasants and the superb Argus, represented in our figure, studded 

 with dark ringed eye-spots on a cinnamon ground, and almost rival- 



