172 CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



Of a living pair purchased by Dr. Bennett, he says : "They would nibble into minute bits the 

 seeds of loquats, almonds, and hempseed, with the same action as a Parrot when feeding. When 

 I first had them, boiled potatoes and bread formed their diet ; the former, being soft, were torn and 

 swallowed in large pieces, but the latter they placed under their feet and tore with their hooked 

 beak into small bits. It was supposed that these birds never drink water ; this I soon found to be 

 incorrect. They invariably feed in the light, but will not take food if any one be present. They 

 run with great rapidity, elongating the body and depressing the head, and in the action of running 

 resemble Grouse." 



Another specimen, purchased at a high price by Dr. Bennett, was presented by him to the 

 Zoological Gardens, London, where it lived for several months. Its skin is now in the British 

 Museum. Of this bird Dr. Bennett says that, while in his possession, "it never became domes- 

 ticated, nor evinced the slightest attachment to the lady who fed it ; it was the same to her as to 

 strangers." Dr. Bennett does not consider the Didunculus a bird which could be readily reconciled 

 to captivity ; " for some time it would be comparatively tame, and then, without any apparent cause 

 to account for the change, it would become very wild." Walpole says that the Didunculus makes its 

 nest on the ground, and that both parents incubate the eggs. 



TRUE GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 



The True Gallinaceous Birds are so named because they present a general resemblance, 

 both in their structure and habits, to our common Bam-door Fowls. They are usually of a moderate 

 or rather large size, and of a stout and somewhat heavy build. They have a small head, often 

 partially or wholly denuded of feathers, and a bill of moderate length, of which the upper mandible 

 is distinctly arched and overhangs the lower, both at the tip and along the margins. As they are 

 all essentially terrestrial in their habits, their legs are always strong and well-developed. The tarsi 

 are stout, and very commonly armed with a spur, or even -with two or more such weapons, which 

 are especially developed in the males. The toes are three in front and one behind, the latter being 

 usually small and slightly elevated on the back of the tarsus, but sometimes more elongated, and 

 then placed upon the same level as the other toes, so as to be efficient in grasping. The anterior 

 toes are not very long, but stout, and often united by webs at their base ; they are armed with 

 strong, but rather blunt nails, which are of great use in scratching up the ground in search of food — 

 a habit common to most of the species, from which, indeed, many ornithologists give them the 

 name of Rasores, or Scrapers. The feathers of the legs are continued down to the articulation 

 of the tarsus, and sometimes extend beyond this point, even to the extremities of the toes. The 

 wings are generally short and weak in comparison with the weight of the body, so that they fly 

 heavily and only to short distances. Their plumage is firm and often adorned vfith brilliant 

 colours, and parts of it, especially in the males, are frequently developed to an extraordinary extent, 

 sometimes giving them a grotesque appearance. The feathers are remarkable for the great 

 development of the accessory plumules springing from the base of the stem at its junction with 

 the quill. 



The members of this order are spread over all parts of the world, but the finest species are 

 inhabitants of the warmer regions. The Ga//ina may be generally described as being the order more 

 especially set apart by their great Creator for the service of man. Hence they are more easily 

 domesticated than any other birds ; their flesh is the most palatable, and their fecundity the greatest 

 They live almost entirely on the ground, which consequently affords them their chief nourishment in 



