THE STILT-WALKERS. 



93 



are light sulphur-yellow, the cheek-stripes greyish flesh-pink, the bare eye-rings blueish, and the feet 

 reddish brown in front, and bright red at their sides ; the beak is coral-red. The female has shorter 

 feathers on her head and a yellowish shade in her plumage. The young resemble the mother. This 

 bird is from thirty-one to thirty-two inches long ; the wing measures fourteen and the tail twelve inches. 

 The Cariamas inhabit the extensive open meadows of Central Brazil, and are also met with 

 throughout a great portion of South America. In the states of La Plata they are replaced by a very 

 similar species. These birds live in pairs or small families, and if disturbed, at once take refuge in 







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% Pin 



4 f 



THE CARIAMA, OR CRESTED SCREAMER (Dicholophus cristatus). ONE-SIXTH NATURAL SIZE. 



the long grass that covers their favourite haunts, peeping forth from time to time, in order to recon- 

 noitre, and forthwith returning to their place of safety. So cautious are they, indeed, that Burmeister 

 tells us he has often heard their voices close to him during an entire day, without ever succeeding in 

 catching a glimpse of them. In the daytime the Cariamas are occupied in searching for the insects, 

 snakes, and other reptiles upon which they subsist. Owing to the great services they render by 

 destroying the latter noxious creatures, the natives are forbidden by law to kill them. Burmeister tells 

 us that they also eat berries. Unlike the Cranes, these birds are constantly in motion throughout the 

 day. According to the Prince von Wied, they occasionally repose upon the branches, but if alarmed, 

 at once return to the ground, and endeavour to save themselves by running, a mode of locomotion 

 which they perform with such extraordinary rapidity as to outstrip a horseman. The harsh loud 



