PURPLISH GUAN. Penelope purpurascens. 



PLATE XL 



Penelope purpurascens, Wagler, 

 Inhabits Tropical America. 



AMERICAN EMU. Rhea Americana. 



PLATE XIL 



Struthio Rhea, Linn. Syst. Nat. 



Rhea Americana, Lath. — Vieill. Gal. Ois. t. 225. 



Inhabits the East Coast of South America. 



Until lately it was believed that there was only a single species of American Ostrich ; but Mr. Darwin, 

 in a letter to Professor Henslow, states that he was led, by the account he heard from the natives, to believe 

 that the kind found in Chili differed from those which inhabited the plains of the east coast ; and spe- 

 cimens of different ages which have lately been received from Mr. Bridges and deposited in the British 

 Museum collection, prove the truth of this idea. 



The following are extracts from Lord Derby's Notes : — 



" The six Rheas of last year are doing well, though one has somehow lost an eye." — May 16, 1845. 

 " The Rhea has begun to lay."— May 23, 1845. 



" My Rhea eggs have hatched ill this year ; out of twenty-six, twenty-three proved bad, and the other 

 three had dead birds in them. But I have three later still to hatch : I hope they may prove more lucky." 

 —Sept. 18, 1845. 



" My Rheas have laid about thirty eggs." 



" Out of my new young Rheas we hope certainly to succeed (accidents barred) with six of them. My 

 young Rheas are progressing well." 



" The Rhea has laid about forty eggs, but no incubation yet." — July 2, 1846. 



" Rhea Americana has bred here twice, and at this moment I have, I believe, upwards of forty eggs, 

 laid partly, I believe, by those bred here." — July 21, 1846. 

 " My African Ostrich has laid four eggs." — 1846. 



" My Emu is sitting on fourteen eggs, and we have one Rhea egg." — May 31, 1845. 

 " My female Emu has laid about twenty eggs, but still the male shows no symptoms of sitting."— 

 April 9, 1846. 



"It is rather provoking our Emu will not sit, while at Wentworth their male is wanting to sit and has 

 no egg. John thinks of sending our eggs to them. Would you advise this ?" 



" My only doubt about sending the Emu eggs to be hatched by the Wentworth male is, whether th^ 

 carriage might not spoil them." 



WATTLED CROWN CRANE. Balearica regulorum. 



PLATE XIIL 



Grus regulorum, Lichtenstein. 



Balearica regulorum, G. R. Gray, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 7, 75. 

 Inhabits South Africa. 



This species is easily known from the common Crowned Crane of Northern and Western Africa by the 

 colour of the cheeks and the size of the throat wattle. 



The Crown Cranes are separated from the other Cranes by the structure of their nostrils ; indeed the 

 nostrils appear to form one of the best characters for the separation of the Wading Birds into natural 

 groups, as I attempted to prove in the arrangement of them published in the ' Synopsis of the British Mu- 

 seum for 1840.' 



The Crowned or Numidian Cranes have never bred here, or even paired, I believe." — July 21, 1846. 



