ORDER gallix.t:. 125 



with it only in deserted forests, towards the twenty-fourth 

 degree and a half of latitude. These Penelopes go in pairs, or 

 in small flocks. Their cry may be represented by the syllable 

 pi. 



Bajon, already quoted, tells us that this bird is extremely 

 rare in the environs of Cayenne, and only to be found far in 

 the interior. They are very frequently to be found towards 

 the upper part of the river of Oyapoc, especially towards the 

 Camoupi. The Indians established there tame them, and 

 bring them to Cayenne. 



The Penelope Marail is a very distinct species from Cris- 

 tata, with which it has been sometimes confounded : the ex- 

 ternal differences, it is true, are not so very obvious to a 

 superficial observer ; though, on examination, they are strik- 

 ing enough ; but the disparities in the anatomy of the two 

 birds, leave no doubt whatever respecting the distinction of 

 species. 



In the Marail, the bill is shorter, and the upper mandible 

 less arched, than in the Cristata. The distance from the point 

 of the bill, as far as the aperture of the nostrils, is less con- 

 siderable in the first than in the last. The tarsi and toes of 

 the Marail are more slender and less long, than the same 

 parts in the Guan. The plumage of the Marail is brilliantly 

 reflected. 



The Marail, says Sonnini, is easily tamed ; he has seen one 

 whose familiarity was troublesome ; it was extremely sen- 

 sible to caresses, and when its own were returned, it would 

 express the most lively joy, by its motions and cries, similar 

 to those of a hen gathering her chickens around her. In a 

 state of liberty its manners are mild and tranquil. It inhabits 

 solitary places, and feeds on wild fruits. The female makes 

 her nest on trees, and lays from two to five eggs, according to 

 age. 



They are rarely to be met with in flocks, each pair sufficing 



