37o 



CHAPTER V. 



GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 



Under this name Linnaeus included a large number of birds which 

 bear considerable analogy to the Domestic Fowl, and mostly included 

 in the Razores of Illiger, , 



The Gallinaceae are essentially land birds, seeking their food on 

 the surface of the soil, and frequently building their nests upon it. 

 They delight in scratching the earth, and in rolling themselves in the 

 dust. Walking is their habitual mode of progression, as one would 

 at once conclude from observation of their strong legs and their 

 short and but slightly-bent claws. Some, like the Partridge, are swift 

 runners, having very short wings, which render their flight laboured. 

 In this order of Birds we do not find more than two or three 

 migratory species. 



The Gallinaceae have short arched beaks, which are generally 

 very strong, and well adapted for crushing the husks of the seeds 

 which, with the addition of grubs, insects, and grasses, form their 

 principal nourishment. Their large and muscular gizzards, with thick 

 lateral muscles, lined on the interior with a very tough coating or 

 epithelium, are exactly fitted for digesting this kind of food. The 

 triturating power of the Gallinaceae is further increased by their habit 

 of swallowing small pebbles, which facilitate the crushing of their 

 food. 



In certain species (the Domestic Fowl, Pheasant, Turkey, &c.) 

 the males are armed above the back toe with one or more tapering 

 spikes (called a spur), which they use both for attack and defence. 

 A great many of this class have their heads adorned with crests and 

 combs of various colours. These appendages exist occasionally in 

 the females, but with much less development than in the males. 



Birds of the most brilliant plumage are to be found among the 

 Gallinaceous tribe. The Peacock, the Argus, the Impeyan, and 

 Common Pheasant may be said to bear the palm in splendour, and 



