PALAMIDEID&. | OSTEOLOGIA AYVIUM. [PALAMEDEW &. 
The birds belonging to the genera that constitute this family are very curious, so 
much so that it is difficult to say where they ought to be classed. In many respects 
they resemble the vultures, as in the structure of the furculum, cranium, and palatine 
bones and pelvis, more particularly Neophron, while in the feet they resemble the 
Rallide, and in the form of the posterior margin of sternum are not like 
either, but the keel resembles the Vulturide. It is no wonder therefore that they have 
been classed differently by authors, a few of whose opinions I shall proceed to quote. 
Mr. G. Gray classes the genera Palamedea and Chauna, forming his family Palamedeide, 
next to the Parride. He says they inhabit marshy places and inundated grounds, in the 
northern parts of America, especially those that are situated near the sea. It is generally found 
in pairs, and is very shy and timorous, but soon betrays itself by its loud calls. The seeds and 
leaves of aquatic plants constitute its principal food. 
These birds are peculiar to the northern parts of South and Central America. They are 
observed in the marshes and occasionally on the borders of lakes and rivers, in pairs, or in troops 
of many individuals. Their manners are shy, but when not seared their gait is slow and stately. 
Their flight is easy and swift, and they are unable to run, except with the assistance of their 
wings, They resort to rest on the tops of high trees. The Brazilian species is kept by the natives 
amongst their poultry. It goes with them to feed during the day, and during this time proves 
very useful in defending the poultry against the attacks of the numerous birds of prey, by means 
of the spurs on the bend of its wings. If the wing of the bird is handled a erackling is felt, 
which is caused by the quantity of air which is lodged between the skin and muscles. Marshy 
and inundated places are preferred by these birds, as their food consists solely of the leaves of 
aquatic plants, grapes, and seeds. Their nest is spacious, and made of small branches of trees, and 
usually placed in a bush surrounded with water, but sometimes it is formed among reeds and 
rushes. The female lays two eggs, 
Castelnau, in his “Animaux ou Rares de |’ Amerique du sud,” gives a plate (15) of 
Palamedee Cornuta and the sternum of Palamedze Derbyana, and (page 73) a description and 
account of the two birds, in which he says they are very different from the moor-hen, rails, or 
coots; and Illiger unites the genera Glarieola, Cereopsis, Chauna, Palamedea, and 
Psophia, under the name of. Alectorides, from which they are very different. He also says, in 
speaking of the sternum, that it presents an analogy to the Vulturide. 
“ Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien von Maximilian Prinzen zu Weid” - 
from which the following is a translation :— 
“The Aniuma, from its great size and beauty, forms an ornament to the Brazilian forests. It 
is dispersed over a large portion of South America, for it has been seen in Guiana, where Somnini 
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