Curassows 



273 



ing dress and following its wearer about for a time, Touie would quiet down a 

 bit, but would continue to sulk and utter his note of complaint until the cause 

 of the trouble had departed. The bird raised his crest when excited, but on 

 other occasions kept it depressed." The Crested Curassow (C. alector] is an- 

 other handsome species in which the male is black glossed with purple, except 

 on the abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts, which are white. This bird is 

 very abundant in French Guiana, frequenting the vast forests in flocks of large 

 size. They perch on the high trees, but also spend much time on the ground 

 searching for fruits and nuts, which constitute the principal part of their food. 

 The nest is placed in a tree, and the eggs, from two to six in number,' are pure 

 white. Sclater's Curassow (C. fasdolatd) is 

 similar to the last, but has the plumage 

 glossed with dark green, and the tail tipped 

 with white; it occurs widely throughout the 

 forests of eastern South America. 



Flat-crested and Helmeted Curassows. 

 There is a singular species found in British 

 Guiana and the upper Amazons known as 

 the Flat-crested Curassow (Nothocrax uru- 

 mutum\ from the fact that the full long crest 

 on the top of the head is recumbent. The 

 male is brownish chestnut, finely mottled 

 with black above and cinnamon below, 

 while the crest is black, the bare space 

 about the eyes purplish blue, and the bill 

 scarlet. The female is somewhat more 

 dusky and smaller. This bird appears 

 to be strictly nocturnal in its habits, 

 spending the day concealed in holes in 

 trees or in the ground, and seeking its 

 food high up in the trees at night. Of 

 this peculiarity Mr. E. Bartlett says: "The 

 habits of this bird render it most difficult 

 to obtain, from its living in holes or burrows 



in the ground. The Indians remain in the forest all night at the place where 

 it is heard. I was informed by the Peruvians, whose word I can rely upon, 

 that these birds come out at night, and ascend to the top branches of lofty 

 trees in search of food. The Indians are on the lookout, and shoot them just 

 before sunrise as they are descending to return to their places of concealment, 

 where they pass the day." The last of this minor group that we may men- 

 tion is the Helmeted Curassow (Pauxis pauxi), which may be known by the 

 presence of a large, elevated, egg-shaped helmet or casque covering the base of 

 the upper mandible and forehead. Like the others the general color of the plu- 

 mage is black, which in this species is glossed with dark green. This bird is con- 

 fined mainly to the mountain forests, being especially abundant in Venezuela. 



FIG. 89. Crested Curassow, Crax 

 alector. 



