334 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS, 



begun to merge its rotten wood with the debris of the jungle 

 floor. I shall never forget pushing aside a mass of beautiful 

 green orchids and slipping into a great hollow made by a 

 second tree which had fallen athwart the first. Just beyond 

 were three Crested Curassows/ a male and two females, 

 the latter busy scratching among the dead leaves, while 

 the male was devoting himself to a most remarkable per- 

 formance.* 



The splendid bird walks slowly up and down the clear 

 space which he has chosen. The entire body is tilted far 

 forward, the breast low and the wings pointing down in 

 front, the wrist portion, or shoulder as it is often wrongly 

 called, dropping almost to the ground. The wing tips lie flat 

 upon the back, and the tail is raised, while the head is held 

 high, almost touching the back and tips of the wings. The 

 tail, carrying out the line of the back, points straight upward, 

 and the white belly, flanks and especially the under tail-coverts 

 are flufi^ed out to their greatest extent, forming a most 

 conspicuous white mark against the black of the remaining 

 plumage. (Fig. 135.) 



Now from a tree near by comes a low penetrating moan 

 or mufiled boom. The bird in front of me at once changes 

 his whole demeanor. He continues his walking but it 

 assumes more of a mincing character, uttering all the 

 while several notes, like low but shrill squeaks or gurgles, 

 mingled with snorts and snores, all rather subdued. These 



* There were several intervening branches, and two or three links in the 

 performance were not clear until I returned north. 



Col, Anthony R. Kuser has most kindly put his splendid aviaries at 

 Bernardsville, Ne\v Jersey, at my disposal for scientific investigation, and here, 

 for a month or more after our return, a male Curassow would go through this 

 W'hole performance for the benefit of anyone who would watch him. After 

 the various "stunts" had been performed, he would fly at the feet of the 

 observer and, wrapping his wings about one's shoes, would peck savagely 

 at the shoestrings. From this and other indications I decided that the per- 

 formance is more in the nature of a challenge than a courtship display. 



