266 
POPULAE HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
lizards. Mr. Gosse^ informs us that^ at the approach of 
nighty the Aramus utters piercing cries previous to roost- 
ing ; it is a solitary and shy bird, and difficult to approach. 
About the end of the year it gets very plump, and its flesh 
is described as being of close and compact texture, peculiarly 
tender and very fine in flavour — ^^a compound of hare, 
partridge, and pigeon.^^ Its general plumage is rather 
pretty, being of a brown colour ; the feathers are marked 
through the centre with a pointed streak of pure white. 
The beak is slender, and somewhat swollen near the end, 
the mandibles not closing accurately. The bird was ar- 
ranged by Cuvier between the cranes and herons ; but 
modern naturalists, from its structure and habits, have 
shown that is with the rails it is more appropriately to be 
classed. Mr. Gosse describes some which he saw standing 
on the summit of some large bushes, densely covered by 
tangled creepers, which afforded a support for their broad 
feet. " They stood boldly erect, as if watching, their dark 
figures relieved against the sky, in an attitude exactly like 
that of an Ibis, though they flirted the tail in the manner of 
a rail. At brief intervals they uttered a short sharp sound, 
and sometimes a loud harsh scream. On being alarmed, 
* Birds of Jamaica, p. 361. 
