12 
THE ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. 
[upper 
On the East side of the room, in Cases 84-106, are placed the 
Gallinaceous Birds, beginning with the Pigeons, Cases 84-88 ; the 
most conspicuous of these are — the Victoria and great Crowned Pigeons 
of the East Indian Islands; the Nutmeg Pigeons, feeding on aromatic 
fruits ; the Didunculus, from the Navigator Islands, now very rare, 
being nearly exterminated by the introduction of the cat into those 
islands ; the Bronze-winged Pigeons of Australia ; and a Pigeon which 
has a red spot on the breast, as if it had been shot there with an 
arrow, and the blood had oozed out. Unlike the other Gallinaceae, the 
Pigeons when hatched are bare, and require to be fed by their parents. 
On the table cases opposite these, in glazed cases, are the Showy 
Fruit-eating Pigeons from New Guinea and the South Sea Islands. 
Cases 89, 90. The Curassows of South America, some of them 
with curious crests and knobs on their beak. 
Cases 91-93. The Peacocks and Argus Pheasants of Asia and its 
islands ; the rare Crossoptilon from Thibet, and the many-spurred 
Polyplectrons, with their fine eye-like spots. Case 95. The Monaul, 
or Impeyan Pheasants, found on the high mountains of India, where 
they live on bulbous roots, which they dig up with their large beaks. 
Cases 94, 95. The Pheasants : the most conspicuous are Lady Am- 
herst's Pheasant from Thibet, and the long-tailed Reeves's Pheasant from 
China. A separate Glass-Case contains a remarkable cross between 
the Golden and Lady Amherst's Pheasants, more gorgeous in color, 
than either of the parents. Cases 96-99. The Wild Fowls, which 
are inhabitants of the Asiatic jungles and woods; the Fire-backed 
Pheasant, and the Horned Pheasants of North India, with their fine 
painted faces. Cases 99, 100. Turkeys and Guinea-fowl ; the most 
conspicuous is the Ocellated Turkey of Honduras and Vulturine 
Pintado. Cases 101-103. The Partridges and Quails; among the 
most curious are the Californian and Crested Quails; some of them 
have been acclimatized in England ; they subsist on seeds chiefly. 
Cases 104, 105. The Grouse are amongst the most favourite birds 
of game : some inhabiting snowy regions, change their plumage 
in autumn to snow-white. The Sandgrouse, with their ochrey 
plumage, inhabit the deserts of the Old World. One species, the 
^Syrrhaptes paradoxus, an inhabitant of Central Asia, has suddenly 
appeared in large numbers in Europe, and 'several small flocks have 
reached England, where they have been observed for three consecutive 
years. Case 106. Sheathbills and Tinamous of the New World. 
The Megapodius group, including the Brush Turkey of Australia, make 
large mounds of decaying vegetable substances, in which the eggs are 
deposited, and are hatched by the heat of the fermenting mass. 
Cases 1 07-109. The Ostrich, Emeus, and Cassowaries, the largest of 
recent birds, incapable of flight, but noted for their powers of running. 
In Case 108 are specimens of the Apteryx, wingless birds of New 
Zealand, sleeping during the day, and feeding at night on worms and 
insects. Cast of the egg of the JEpyornis maximus, a fossil gigantic 
Ijird, from Madagascar. Opposite the upright case 108, is placed 
a glass case containing the skeleton of the bird called the Dodo, 
