of the United States . 
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ORDER III. GALLINiE. 
Gallina , L. Gm. Cm?. Temm. Ranz. 
Rasores , J/Z. Gallinacei , Vieill. Latr. 
Bill short, hard, convex ; upper mandible vaulted, curved, 
the margins projecting over the lower : nostrils lateral, half 
covered by an arched, cartilaginous, membrane. Head small : 
neck rather short, thick : body massive, but slightly com- 
pressed. Feet stout, covered by a rough coriaceous skin ; 
tibiae fleshy, wholly feathered ; tarsus short or moderate, 
rounded ; toes thick, moderate, scabrous beneath, three be- 
fore and generally one behind, articulated with the tarsus 
higher than the rest, hardly touching the ground at tip ; sole 
callous : nails moderate, somewhat obtuse, convex, but little 
incurved, not in the least retractile. Wings generally short, 
rounded, concave ; quills stiff and curved. Tail of from 
ten to eighteen feathers, very rarely wanting. 
Female smaller, differing considerably from the male ; in 
most species much less brilliant in plumage. Young at first co- 
vered with thick down, gradually replaced by feathers. Moult 
generally but once in the year. Contains the most beautiful 
of birds. 
Keeping on the ground : scratching the earth: dusting 
themselves. Granivorous : searching for corn and other 
seeds, and feeding sometimes on garden vegetables, berries, 
buds of trees, and insects : macerate their food in their mus- 
cular crop ; aiding digestion by means of small stones, &c. 
Chiefly polygamous : females alone attending to the nest, in- 
cubation, and education, the males of most species hardly 
assisting : nest on the ground, inartificially composed of a few 
straws : lay several times in the year; eggs numerous : chicks 
