CURAS sow— TURKEY 79 



the young are hatched clothed in down, and are able 

 to run about immediately after leaving the shell. 



The Mound-birds have very large, strong feet, and 

 with them they throw up huge mounds of earth and 

 decaying vegetable matter, in which they deposit their 

 eggs, digging holes for their reception a number of 

 feet below the surface of the ground. The male bird 

 is said to assist the female in maldng these mounds, 

 but after the eggs are laid, apparently no further at- 

 tention is paid to them by the parents, and they are 

 hatched by the heat generated in the decaying vegeta- 

 tion. But little appears to be known about the habits 

 of these strange birds. 



The Curassows are somewhat Turkey-like in form. 

 They are forest-loving birds, nesting in trees, and are 

 found in the tropical portions of America. There are 

 many species. Perhaps the commonest is the Globose 

 Curassow, which is frequently seen in captivity. It 

 is almost black in colour, with greenish iridescence on 

 the back and breast, and has a large crest. These 

 birds go about in flocks, and perch high up in the 

 branches of trees, where they build their roughly- 

 shaped nests. See Plate 41, Fig. 244, 



The only species of Guan known in North Amer- 

 ica is the Chacalacca, so called from its cry. In the 

 Guans the bill is longer and wider than in the true 

 Curassows. The two forms are closely related, but 

 the Guans are more solitary in habits. They are dis- 

 tinguished by the bare, bright red skin of the throat, 

 which may be expanded at will. 



The largest of the Gallinaceous birds is the Turkey, 

 native to North and South America. It is one of the 



