272 VEETEBRATA. 
Porphyrio, one species of wliicli, P. hyacinthinus, is very beautiful, and found in Southern Europe 
as well as parts of Africa and Asia. 
THE HORNED SCREAMER. 
Genus PALAMEDEA : Palamedea. — To this belongs the Kamichi or Hoened Screamer, P. 
cornuta, larger than a grouse ; the plumage greenish -brown above, with a reddish spot on the 
shoulder ; two strong spurs on the edge of each wing, and a pointed, triangular flexible horn, about 
three inches long, on the top of the head. Another remarkable peculiarity is, that the skin is 
separated from the flesh by a considerable interval, occupied by a loose, cellular structure, which 
is filled with air, so that the skin crackles under the pressure of the hand. The same curious 
arrangement is found in some gannets and cormorants. This bird is common in Guiana and Brazil, 
where it lives in pairs, in marshy places, feeds on grains and aquatic herbs, and makes the air 
resound witb its loud, wild cries. It is called Camouche in Guiana, and Anhima in Brazil. The 
Chaja, Chauna cliavaria, is a closelj^-allied species, thirty- two inches long, and has a clarion- 
like note, uttered by night and day, whenever it is excited by a noise. It is domesticated with 
other fowls by the natives of Paraguay and Colombia, where it is found. 
THE SCOLOPACID^ OR SISTIPES. 
This family includes several allied groups, as the Plialaro-pes^ True SnipeSy Sandpipers^ Curlews, 
Tatlers, Avocets, &c. 
THE PHALAROPES. 
Genus PHALAROPUS : Phalaropas. — This contains the Northern or Gray Phalarope, 
— phalarope of the French — P. platyrhynchus or P. hyperhore^is. The females are a little the 
largest ; medium length eight inches ; general color pearl-gray above, white beneath ; feeds on 
thin-skinned crustaca and aquatic insects; eggs usually four. They procure their food principally 
upon the water, on which they alight like ducks, and float as light as gulls, and move about in 
search of food. The sight of a bank of floating sea-weed induces them to alight upon it, where 
