BILLS OF THE GALLINID^. 



21; 



to their size ; and in some of their habits, as well as 

 some of their characters (such as having naked skin 

 on the head), they resemble the gallinidse. Both 

 agree in having the nostrils pierced in a membrane 

 at the base of the bill, and protected only by a car- 

 tilaginous scale, and not by hairs or feathers. 



BILLS or THE GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 



The gallinaceous birds are all ground feeders, though 

 they vary a little in the nature of their food, and the 

 places where they find it. The whole of the tribe have 

 the head very small in proportion to the size of the body, 



Argus Pheasant 



and the neck so long that the point of the bill can not 

 only reach the ground, but command a considerable 

 extent of it when the body is in a horizontal position. 



