GOURIN^. 
Starn^nas Pr. Bonap.* 
BUI slender, slightly vaulted at the tip ; the nostrils lateral and longitudinal. Wings moderate and 
pointed. Tail moderate and rounded. Tarsi lengthened, longer than the middle toe, naked, and covered 
with small hexagonal scales. 
This bird is peculiar to the West Indies, especially Cuba and Jamaica. It lives retired and solitary among the 
bushes upon the ground, where it seeks its food, and, when alarmed, runs with great rapidity in the manner of 
partridges. Its power of flight is very weak, and rarely employed. The nest is formed upon the ground, and the 
female usually lays several eggs. The young are said to follow the parent as soon as they are hatched. 
1. S. cyanocephala (Linn.) Pr. Bonap. PI. enl. 174., Le Vaill. I 2. S. melancholica Tschudi, Faun. Peruana, p. 46. 
Ois. d'Afr. t. 281., Temm. Pig. t. 3, j 3. S.frenata Tschudi, Weigra. Arch. 1843. 1. p. 386. 
GouRA Flem.f 
Bill moderate, slender, straight, slightly vaulted at the tip, with the base of the upper mandible 
covered with small plumes ; nostrils placed in a lateral groove, membranous, with the opening oval and 
in the middle of the bill. Wings long and rounded, with the fourth, fifth, and sixth quills the longest. 
Tail long and rounded. Tarsi lengthened, much longer than the middle toe, naked, and covered with 
rounded scales. Toes short, the lateral ones unequal, with the hind toe long, and all of them covered 
above with transverse scales ; the claws moderate, strong, and curved. The head ornamented with a 
large compressed crest. 
These handsome birds are found in the large islands of the Indian archipelago and New Guinea. They live in the 
dense forests, and feed upon berries, seeds, grains, &c., which they seek for on the ground. The nest is formed upon a 
tree, and, lUse most of the species of pigeons, they lay but two eggs. 
1. G. coronata (Lath.) Steph. PI. enl. 118., Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. | 2. G. Steursii (Temm.J) — Lophyrus Victoria Fra. Proc. Z. S. 
t.280., Temm. Pig. t. 1. — Lophyrus indicus Steph. \ 1844. p. 27- 
* Established by the Prince of Canino in 1838 {List of the Birds of Europe and N. Amer.). 
t This division was first estabhshed by Vieillot, in 18l6, under the name of Lophyrus. This word having been employed in other 
branches of Natural History, it becomes necessary to adopt the above name from Dr. Fleming, who published it in 1822 {Phil, of Zoo/. 
p. 232.). In 1836 M. Kaup used Megapelia, and in 1837 Mr. Swainson proposed Ptilaphyrus, which are synonymous. 
X This name is used on the authority of M. Temminck, who informed me, on my late visit to Leyden, that he had so named and 
published the bird three years ago. 
June, 1845. 
