226 AVES. 



lioweYcr, are not prolonged. It also resembles the Peafowl in the brilliancy of the colours of the 

 male : circumference of the eye, and even the cheeks, naked, as in the Pheasants, and the tarsi armed 

 with stout spars. [The upper mandilde very much overhangs the under one, as ohservablc in a less 

 degree in the Plicasants generally, enabling this bird to root up bulbs with facility.] 



AVe kiiuw but one species, from the mountains of the nortli of India, the Resplendent Impeyan {L, refulgens, 

 Tein. ; Phiu'iuniis Impeyaiius, Lath.)- Size of a [small] Turkey, and black; the crest and dorsal plumajfe of 

 chano;eable colours, retlectins; tints of g"0ld, copper, sapphire and emerald ; tail-feathers chestniit-rufous, [and the 

 rump white]. The female and youns; are brown, dashed with grey and fulvous. 



The Turkeys (Melcnr/r/s, Tin.) — 

 Have the head and njiper part of the neck invested witli a naked, maramellatcd skin ; an appenrlage 

 under the throat, and auntlier conical one nu the forehead, \\bich becunies iiiHated and }iruloiiged ^\hcu 

 tne bird is excited by passion, when it hangs over tlie beak. On the lower part of the neck in front, 

 the adult male has a tuft of very long pendent bristles ; the coverts of the tail, shorter and more stiff 

 than in the Peafowl, can be expanded in like manner into a fan. The males have weak spurs, [and are 

 the only American Poultry -birds wherein a trace exists of those appendages]. 



But one species was known for a long time, the Common Turkey {M. galUpavo, Lin.l. It was brou:;-ht from 

 North America during the IGth century, and was soon dift'iised throughout Europe, \\hcre it continues to be 

 reared for the excellency of its flesh, its great size, and the facility with which it is bred. The Wild Tui Ulvs \astly 

 exceed rlic domestic breed in brilliancy, and are of a greenish-brown, g-Iossed with copper retloctions. 



A second, however, has been recently described, the (!icellated Turkey (J/, ocelluta, Cuv.), which approximates 

 the Peafowl in the splendour of its colours, and by the disks of sapphirine-blue, inclosed by circles of gold and 

 ruby-red, \>hich adorn the tail-coverts. It was captured in the Bay of Honduras. 



[AVe may here Jnlrodiice a large Poultry-bird of New llullaml, 



The Vultee-x {^Ahctvrn, Gray), — 

 Whieli ha^ been strangely arranged l>y some aui^ors anioug the Vultures, on account of its baUl neck. 

 From tlie Poultry generally, it is distinguished b; the shortness of the downy plumage of the rump, 

 as in the Touraeo.•^ ; its tiind-toe is large, and on ilie .-ame jilaiie with those in frcmt, the same as in 

 the Cnrassows, like whicii il is also destitute of ^pury ; but ils tail-feathers are eigliteen in number. 



One sjK-cifs only is known [A. Lalhami, Gray), entirely uf a dusky coluur, tlie feathers of the under-parts tipped 

 with whitish.] 



The Pintados (Numidu, Lin.), 

 Or Guinea-fowl, have a nak''d head, and fleshy wattles below tlie cheeks, a short tail, ami the s-kuU 

 generally surmounted by a callous crest. Their feet are without spin's; the tail short and pendent, so 

 that the long feathers of the croup impart a rounded figure. 



The common domestic species {N. melengris, Lin.), originally from Africa [the indigenous habitat of all], has a 

 sh'ite-colourod plumafje, everywhere speckled with round white spots [of diflFerent sizes]. Its noisy and querulons 

 disposition render it an incommodious species in poultry-yards, allhough its tlesh is excellent. In thf wild st.-itr, 

 they live in large flocks, and prefer the neighbourhood of marshes. 



[Three or four others are known, of which N. vnllm-hui, Gnuld, is the most bcautifnl, having pointed purple 

 fndhers on the lower part of the neck; the lind\ -plniuage of all being nearly similar. The Crested Pintado 

 (.v. f-r/AYrt^o, Pallas), is ^'cry reniai-k:il>le fnr thr ;i|i|icii(liige to the fnrrnla forTning a sort of cup, in ^\liich the 

 traclie.'i umlrrgoes a r(ni\ oliitiun. No traci- of this .^tiaictiire e.vis^ts m (he conirnon spei.'ies.] 



The great genus of 



Pheasants (P//osianiis, Lin.) — 

 h characterized by partly naked checks, covered with a red skin, and Itylhe tcetiform tail, the feathers 

 of whicli are variously disposed. We fn^t distinguish among theiu 



The Fn-vvi.s; (Gall'/s, Guv.), — 

 The brad of w'nich is surmounted by a vertical fleshy comb, and the inferior mandible furnished on 

 eacli side with lleshy wattles. Their tail-feathers, fourteen iu number, are elevated on two vertical 

 planes, placed back to back ; tlie coverts of tluit of the male arc prolonged to form the arch over the 

 tail [iroper. 



Ttie species so common in our poultry-yards, [alisolntely without a specialKngbsh name] (P//. .^(t//».?, Lin.), 

 varies endlessly in colour, and very much in size ; there are races wherein the fleshy comb is replaced by a crest 

 of reverted feathers; some in which the tarsi and evrn the toes are feathered ; another in which the crest, wattles, 

 and periosteum of the whole skeleton --p hiaek ; and some monstrous kmds which have hereditarily five and even 

 six toes to each foot. 



