490 



MANUAL OF Z®OLOGY. 



The Megapodidoe, or Mound-birds, belohg to India and Aus- 

 tralia, and have very large fdet and long claws. They build 

 immense mounds, often six or eight feet high, and twenty or 

 thirty feet in diameter. They lay their eggs in the centre of 

 these mounds at a depth of two or three feet, and leave them 

 to be hatched by the heat produced by the fermentation of the 

 vegetable matter of the mass. 



The Cw«"rtfe, or Curassows, are large heavy birds, belonging 

 to Central and South America, and to a great extent arbored 

 in their habits. The oest-known species is the Crested Curas- 

 sow ( Crax akcior) of Mexico and Brazil. 



Fig. 192. — Columbidsc Rock -pigeon {Colunidti Itvta). 



The second sub-order of the Rasores is that of the Columbacet 

 or Gemitores, comprising the Doves and Pigeons, and often 

 raised to the rank of a distinct order under the- name of Cch 

 lumbx. The Columbacei are separated from the more typical 

 members of the Rasores by being furnished with strong wings, 

 so as to endow them with considerable powers of flight. In 

 place, therefore, of being chiefly ground-birds, they are to a 

 great extent arboreal in their habits, and in 'accordance with 



