98 CLASS AVES. 



These birds would appear to be naturally divided into 

 nudipedes, and plumipedes, or naked footed, and feathered 

 footed. In other respects their characters are not very pro- 

 minent, for the purposes of generic separation. Linnaeus, 

 under the name of gallinae, comprehended, besides the ostrich, 

 the bustard and the dodo, which have since been separated 

 from this order. 



The term Alector, signifying a cock, in Greek, has been 

 applied, as we have seen, by our author, to designate the first 

 family of the gallinaceous order. It is unnecessary to repeat 

 the characters given in the text, to which no observations on 

 the family in general, can be added, of any interest or im- 

 portance ; we shall therefore proceed at once to a consideration 

 of the sub-divisions made by the Baron. 



The first is that of the Hoe cos, properly so called. 



These birds inhabit America exclusively, and in the south- 

 em countries of that quarter of the globe hold the place of 

 the turkeys, which are found only in North America. M.Tem- 

 minck, who has favoured the world with a natural history of 

 gallinaceous birds, has separated the hoccos, the pauxis, and 

 the yacous, into three genera, to which he has assigned different 

 characters. As this gentleman has made a most particular 

 study of these birds, and of the gallinae in general, we shall 

 be more especially indebted to him for our observations on 

 this subject. We shall first borrow a few of his remarks on 

 the three genera of the Hoccos {crax), of the Pauxis 

 {ourax), and the Yacous (penelope). 



These three genera, which, whatever general analogies may 

 exist between them, are yet essentially distinct, all inhabit 

 the new world. They may be considered then as representa- 

 tives of the pheasant genus, which is so much extended 

 through the countries of the ancient continent. Many interest- 

 ing details have been given concerning them by two travellers. 



