ORDER GALLINiE. 129 



pheasants. M. Temmiiick gives as synonimous of it, the 

 Catracas of Pere Feuille, Phasianus Motmot^ Lin., Fai- 

 san de la Guiane of Brisson and BufFon, Phasianus 

 Parraqua of Lath, the Parraqua of Bajon and Sonnini^ 

 Vacu Carraguata of Azara, and Phasianus Garrulus of 

 Humboldt. 



Many of the names given to this bird, in imitation of the dis- 

 cordant cries which it utters, morning and evening, have given 

 rise to these different indications ; in fact, the syllables, cata- 

 cras, parraqua, parrakoua, hannequaw, &c. indicate in different 

 idioms, the sounds peculiar to the voice of this bird. Some 

 disparities in the colours of the plumage, of very little import- 

 ance, marked in the descriptions of authors, are simply owing 

 to the slight differences characteristic of different ages 

 Among others, the phasianus garrulus of Humboldt does 

 not differ, even according to the confession of this eminent 

 philosopher himself, from the motmot and the parraqtia of 

 Latham, but in having the belly white, which character is 

 common to all the young parraquas ; moreover, this bird is 

 too well distinguished by the sinuosities of its trachea, and by 

 many other characters peculiar to itself, to be mistaken for 

 any other. 



The parraqua is distinguished from the penelopes by its 

 bill, the upper ridge of which is more elevated and curved, 

 and by the point of the mandible, which is more swelled and 

 vaulted, and these differences approximate the bill of this 

 bird in some measure to that of the pheasants. The parraqua 

 has no flabby and flowing membrane under the throat, and no 

 considerable nudity on this part ; a narrow naked band only, 

 extends on each side of the throat along the edges of the 

 lower mandible of the bill ; these two bands are divided by a 

 blackish skin, covered with thick and long hairs ; when the 

 bird is agitated, the two lateral bands grow quite red. The 

 tarsi are long and narrow, and the tail strongly rounded. 



VOL. VIII. K 



