THE GUAN. 133 



scarlet, depends a more or less considerable fold of the 

 skin, of the same colour, which is either elongated or 

 entirely retracted in conformity with the state of excite- 

 ment or inaction of the bird. Even after death it 

 possesses considerable elasticity, and may then be 

 drawn out or made to disappear at will. 



The principal external difference in the female con- 

 sists in a decided tinge of red over the whole plumage, 

 especially on the under parts. 



Like most of the birds of this family, the Guan is 

 remarkable for the circuitous course of its wind-pipe 

 before entering the cavity of the chest. It has also 

 some peculiarities in the structure of its upper larynx, 

 which are well described by M. Temminck in his 

 Natural History of Gallinaceous Birds, published at 

 Amsterdam in 1815. 



The manners 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 

 with the latter birds, nor has the same success attended 

 the attempts to propagate them in 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 domes- 

 ticated 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 eat upon 

 the ground ; but the greater part of their existence is 

 passed upon the trees, on the tops of which they perch, 

 and in which they build their nests. They are not 



