76 THE WONDERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



crow, and is therefore to be explained by the principles and properties of light, and not by the actual 

 nature of the plumage. The crest is in length from two to three inches, and may be said to occupy the 

 whole upper surface of the head : it has a curled and velvety appearance, and is capable of being raised 

 or depressed at pleasure, according as the bird is under the excitement of anger or any other violent 

 affection. There is one habit which distinguishes this bird particularly from the turkey, to which it 

 may be said to approximate in some of its characteristics closer than to any other bird, namely, the 

 formation of its nest. The turkey, like the majority of gallinaceous birds, pays little or no attention 

 to the structure of its nest, laying its eggs indiscriminately in any place, without any previous prepara- 

 tion ; the curassow, on the contrary, builds its nest on the very tallest trees of the forest, and this very 

 circumstance presents a great impediment to the domestication of the bird, as it cannot submit to the 

 process of incubation on the bare ground, or in an artificial coop. The curassow may be classed in the 

 perching order of birds ; indeed, the very structure of its hinder toe, which is very long, and far more 

 robust than that of the common fowl, declares at once the native habit of the bird. 



The bill of the curassow is of moderate length, and of considerable thickness ; the upper mandible 

 is curved and vaulted from the base to the point, and is sometimes surmounted by a protuberance like 

 that of the common turkey. The wings are short, but the tail is rather long, consisting of twelve 

 broad pens. The head is ornamented with a closely tufted crest, composed of long curled feathers, 

 and the legs are about the same size and thickness as those of the common turkey. It must, however, be 

 considered that the majority of these characters are common to the genera Pauxi and Penelope; but 

 nevertheless, there are certain grounds of distinction between those genera and the curassows ; and 

 these are chiefly founded on the bill and the shape of the nostrils, the nakedness of the throat, and the 

 position of the hinder toe. 



The curassow is a gregarious bird, and in a wild state associates in flocks, consisting sometimes of 

 more than five hundred. In Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil, and, in fact, over a large portion of the 

 southern continent of America, they frequent the great swamps, leaving them at sunrise to repair to 

 the dry woods in search of food. According to Sonnini, the curassow is so extremely common in the 

 woods of Guiana, that he regards it as the most certain resource of the hungry traveller, whose stock 

 of provisions is exhausted, and who has consequently to trust to his own gun for furnishing him with a 

 fresh supply. In their native haunts they appear to be under no fear or uneasiness from the intru- 

 sion of man ; and even when a number of them have been shot, the'remainder sit quietly perched on 

 the trees, apparently unconscious of the danger that surrounds them. In proportion, however, as 

 their haunts become contiguous to places inhabited by man, they become wilder, and assume all the 

 characteristics of other birds, which, to avoid the pursuit of the hunters, exhibit the utmost mistrust 

 and fear whenever a human step approaches. They lay but once a'year, during the rainy season, and 

 in their prolificness cannot be compared to the gallinaceous fowls of this country, as they seldom pro- 

 duce more than from five to eight eggs, which are nearly as large as those of a turkey, but not speckled, 

 being quite white, like those of the common barn-door fowl. They appear to take some trouble in 

 the formation of their nests, constructing them externally of branches interlaced with the stalks of 

 herbaceous plants, and lining them internally with leaves. They generally select the highest branches, 

 ascending to them from bough to bough, never reaching their nests by the power of their wings : they 

 run swiftly, but fly awkwardly ; and about the month of May they are so exceedingly fat, that they 

 are easily overtaken by the hunter. 



The curassow has not been long enough domesticated in this country to enable us to obtain a 

 correct knowledge of all its habits, and few travellers have transmitted to us any particular account 

 respecting it : litde doubt, however, exists that, in course of time, this bird will be considered as a 

 member of the gallinaceous family, and rival the turkey or the pheasant at the tables of the great. 



