192 
GENUS CBIPIURUS. 
branches of the trees, seeking safety from the nu- 
merous carnivorous animals which hunt their prey 
during night, and delight in the varied game of these 
wilds. During day they skulk about the long her- 
bage, and even when assailed by men, allow them- 
selves to be killed with sticks, rather than exert 
their little powers of flight. The wings and tail are 
both short and without power, the latter almost 
wanting ; but their feet are more fitted for running 
in the marshy grounds, and the disincumbrance of 
the tail enables them to thread an easy passage 
through a tangled herbage. The next Plate re- 
presents 
