CRAX. 271 



the posterior margin of the sternum. The bill is short and stout, the upper mandible 

 being arched and overhanging the lower one. The hind toe is always present. The 

 nestlings when hatched are covered with down, and are able to run a few hours 

 afterwards. 



Suborder PERISTEROPODES. 



This Suborder comprises the Curassows, Penelopes, and Guans, all of which are 

 strictly Neotropical, if we except Ortalis vetula, which extends north of the Rio 

 Grande. Like the true Game-Birds, the Cracidse have a schizognathous palate 

 and schizorhinal nostrils, as well as a tufted oil-gland, but the inner notch of the 

 sternum is less than half the length of the entire sternum, and a striking feature is 

 the position of the hind toe or hallux, which is on the same level as the fore toes, 

 its basal phalanx being as long as that of the third one. 



Pam. CRACID-a:. 



The characters which distinguish this family are the same as those of the Suborder. 

 The Cracidse are peculiar to the New World, and are remarkable not only for the 

 anatomical characters enumerated above, but for their manner of breeding. Instead 

 of placing their rbest on the ground, as is the usual custom with most Game-Birds, the 

 Curassows and Guans build in trees and lay white eggs. 



Subfam. CBACINJE. 



Upper mandible higher than broad. 



CRAX. 



Crax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 269 (1766); Grant, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxii. p. 474 (1893). 



The Curassows are characterized by their very short bill, the height of the upper 

 mandible being greater than its width, and the feathers on the top of the head are 

 semi-erect and curled at the extremity. In some species there is a swollen knob at 

 the base of the culmen, with a pair of wattles at the base of the lower mandible. The 

 tail-feathers are twelve in number. In this genus the females are different in colour 

 from the males, the latter being almost alike in plumage. Eleven species have been 

 recorded, only three of which are found in Central America, the others being peculiar 

 to various districts of South America. 



1. Crax globicera. 



Crax globicera, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 270 ' ; Scl. P. Z. S. 1860, p. 253 ^ Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 274, t. 40 

 (part.)'; Taylor," Ibis, 1860, p. 311^; Salv. Ibis, 1861, p. 143'; 1889, p. 378'; 1890, 



