ORDER GRALL.E. 479 



the herons, to which in fact it approximates in size much 

 more than to the curlews, and from which it differs only by a 

 very slight curvature at the extremity of the bill. M. 

 Vieillot having remarked that its toes were entirely sepa- 

 rated, while in the other species of the genus Ardea they are 

 united at the base, and that the intermediate claw, pectinated 

 in the latter on the internal edge, was dilated, but entire in 

 the Courliri, and also in the Carau, a bird described by M. 

 d'Azara, which presents other peculiarities, has made a dis- 

 tinct genus of them under the name of Aramus. 



The manners of the Ardea Scolopacea are the same as 

 those of the herons. 



There is another species, the Carau above-mentioned, 

 Aramus Carau, Vieillot, common in Paraguay. This bird 

 has the easy and light walk of the herons, and like them it 

 lives solitarily, or in couples, but it is not so quick and viva- 

 cious. It does not conceal itself, and instead of flying, like 

 the herons, only as a last resource, and then but for a short 

 time, it rises instantly into the air on being disturbed, and 

 remains there for some time without attempting to approach 

 the ground. Its wings are more ample, its shoulders broader, 

 its tail and bill stronger, its neck and legs shorter, and 

 its toes longer than those of the heron. It perches on 

 the summit of trees, and lives like the heron on the products 

 of argillaceous lands ; but it does not enter the water to pro- 

 cure its subsistence, and eats neither fish nor serpents. When 

 its attention is arrested by any noise, it utters, in the day-time, 

 and even at night, the syllables carau, with a piercing voice, 

 a cry which may be heard at the distance of a mile and a 

 half. M. d'Azara has been assured that this bird conceals 

 its nest very carefully in places where stagnant waters 

 abound. The female lays two eggs, and the little ones follow 

 the mother immediately after being born. 



The Caurale is a bird of Guiana, which inhabits the banks 



