2S The Nrsihig of the Lrssrr Gre)/-Hradr(f Gunn. 
The Nesting of the Lesser Grey-headed Guan. 
(Ortali^ vcfiil(i). 
By B. Suggitt. 
The Guans are very closely related to the Game Birds, 
and belong to the family Craridae (Curassows) of that order. 
The family is confined to the warmer parts of America, only 
one of the numerous species ranging as far north as Southern 
Texas. They are tree-loving birds, and are seldom found far 
from the vicinity of woods. They feed both amongst the 
branches, and on the ground, their food consisting of fruit, 
leaves and insects. 
The Lesser Grey-headed Guan has the most northerly 
range of any of the seventeen species of Ortalis, being found 
from the United States of Colombia to Southern Texas, where 
it is known by the name of " Chacalacca." 
This species is about the size of a hen Pheasant and is 
of very sober plumage. The head and neck are dark grey; 
upper surface and chest, olive-brown; remainder of under 
surface buff; tail-feathers above dark green, each feather with 
a broad tip of buflf. The throat is red and naked, divided down 
the centre l)y a thin band of feathers. The i>ody is very 
thill and small; total length, about 20 inches; tail 9' inches. 
The sexes are alike in plumage, but the male may be distingu- 
ished from the female by his slightly redder throat, and his 
stouter beak. 
Their nests are usually found in cavities, formed by 
the jrnction of the limb of a tree with the trunk, where twigs 
and leaves have fallen. It is very probable that the birds 
do not collect their own material, but use these accumulations to 
form their nests, in which three or four white, rough-shelled 
eggs are laid. 
It is said that a few of these birds are domesticat',;d 
eA'ery year in Mexico and Texas, where they become very 
tame and inconveniently familiar, but Professor Newton, speak- 
ing of the Guans, says " All attempts to domesticate them in 
" the full sense of the word have wholly failed, and the eases in 
" which they have been induced to breed, and the young have 
"been reared in confinement are very few." 
In captivity these birds require some warmth during 
