224 
POPULAR HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
present the partridges of the old world. There are several 
species^ from the size of a quail up to that of a pheasant, 
and all are remarkable for having a long and slender neck, 
while their tail is reduced to a very small size ; the beak is 
long and slender, and the hind toe does not reach the ground. 
Mr. Darwin, at Maldonado, fell in with great numbers of the 
T, Tufescens. These birds do not go in coveys like our par- 
tridges, nor do they conceal themselves when come upon. 
Mr. Darwin describes it as a very silly bird; and says that a 
man on horseback, by riding round and round, and approach- 
ing closer each time, may knock on the head as many as he 
pleases. The flesh when cooked is delicately white and 
very good^'. The Tinamous feed chiefly on seeds, fruits, and 
insects. Unlike the partridge, the Tinamou, at least the 
small Demerara species, lays only one egg, which it deposits 
in a little hollow, scratched at the foot of a tree. 
Waterton, during his wanderings (Fourth Journey, p. 286), 
fell in with the Great Tinamou, and tells us that it invariably ' 
roosts in trees. Though the feet in this bird are very small 
in proportion to the bulk of the body, so as to be of no use 
to it in grasping a branch, and the hind toe does not reach 
the ground even in walking, and cannot assist the bird in 
* Journal, p. 51. 
