230 



AVKS. 



Otheri, 



The Attagens {Syrrhaptes, lUiger), — 

 Are so far removed from the o^oneral ty])e of the Poultry, tliat it is even (louljtfLil vAlietlirr tliey sliould 

 range in the present order. [Tliey appear to lie lu-'arly related to tlie Gangas.] Their sliort tarsi are 

 feathered, as are also the toes, which are short, and joined together for a jiart of their leiigth ; the 

 wings being extremely long and pointed. 



But one species is known, from the deserts of central Asia [and very rarely eastern Europe,] {T. paradoxiiSy 

 Pallas), the lIeterod)/le of Temniinck. 



AVe are equally necessitated to separate frnm the Grouse 



The Tin.vmous {'I'/rwiuus, Latham; Ci-ypturufi, lUiger), — 

 An American genus, remarkahlc for a long and slender neck, (although the tarsi are short,) covered with 

 feathers, the tips of the Ijaihs of whicli are slender and slightly curled, which imparts a peculiar air to 

 that part of their plumage. The beak is long, slender, and blnnt at the end ; somewhat vaulted, with 

 a small groove at each side : the nostrils are pierced in the middle of each side, and penetrate obliquely 

 'oaekwards. Their wings are slioil, and tliey lia\e scarcely any tail. Thi^ menilirane hetweeii the base 

 of ilieir toes is very short. Their thumb, reduced to a spur, cannot touch the ground. They have a 



small naked space round the eye. These birds eillier perch 

 on low branches, or conceal themselves in tall grass ; they 

 live on fruits ami insects, a)n:l their llesh is very good. Their 

 size varies from that etf a Pheasant ilown to tliat of a Quail, 

 or even still smaller, [l^ggs of a di-ep purple cohiur.] 



Some of them (the Pczus of SpLx), have a small tail concealed 

 under the feathers of the rump. Others (the Tinamus of Spi.x) have 

 no tail at all, and the nostrils are placed a httle further- backward. 



We should distinguish the likijndwtis of Spi.x, w herein the beak, 

 which is stronirer, lias no grroovc, and is a little arcuated and de- 

 pressed, with the nostrils piei-eeil towards the base. 



The Pigeons (Cohimha, Lin.) — 

 Jlay be considered as furming some passage from the 

 GiiUiiifP to the Passerhiip. As in the former, their 

 beak is vatiltetl, the nostrils are. pierced in a large mem- 

 branous space, and covered with a cartilngiiKnis scale, 

 rit,.iia-sun,„„orTin.„,„u. ,^]„j.], p^.^.ji f„^„,g ,^ 1,,,]^,,, at tii^, ],;,„, „ft],^. ],^,.,i^ . t),^, 



1)ony sternum (fig. 11 1 1 is deeply and dimblv emarginatcd, altlioiigh soinewluit differently [the 

 inner notch being mostly reduced to a ibrameu ; the ridge of the 

 sternum deep, and rounded off anteriorly (much as in the Par- 

 rots) ; and the furcula flat and destitute of any appendage]. The 

 crop (fig. 70, ]). KiO) is extremely large [and double, or expanding 

 on each side of tlie cesophagus, m whicli it ditl'ers from that of 

 iiuy other bird; it also secretes a lacteal suhstanci', as in the 

 Parrots, during the period of incubation. Tlie gizzard is |)Ower- 

 fully muscular; the intestines very long and slender, ^Mtli niinute 

 eoeea; and there is no gall bladder]. The inferior larMix is iiir- 

 nisheil with but one muscle proper — [we have invariably found 

 two ]iairs] ; but there is no other membrane between the base of 

 the toes than that which results from the eontinnitv (d' thi' edges. 

 The tail consists of twelve feathers, and l\n-\ i\\ tnlerablv well. 

 These birds arc iiivarlablv mouoganioiis, nestle in trees or the 

 boles of rocks, and lay but very few eggs, ordinarily tw o, though 

 they breed often. Both sexes incubate, and they feed their young 

 by disgorging grain macerated in the crop. They form but one 

 great genus, which naturalists have attempted to divide into three 

 subgenera, from the greater or less strength of the b'll, and the proportions of the feet. 



Fie. iii-st,TNu„, „f rif. 



