INTRODUCTION. 
15 
head crested, the feathers inclining backward and forming a thick tuft on the occiput; orbits plumed; wings 
somewhat lengthened in form; tertiaries pendent, overhanging and exceeding the primaries in length; tail 
short, blended with the upper tail-coverts, and composed of soft yielding feathers; tarsi spurless, reticulated, 
moderately long and robust; toes short; the inner of the anterior ones very short; hind-toe feeble, and 
situated high upon the tarsus; nails very large, much lengthened, curved, and thick at the point. 
Of tins form only two species are at present known, both of which are natives of Mexico; they are 
rather small in size, being but a little larger than the European Quail, and are particularly distinguished by 
the singularity of the facial markings, by the shortness of the toes and the great development of the nails. 
The sexes also appear to differ very much in their colouring. 
The species are— 
7. Cyrtonyx Massena ........ PI. VII. 
8. -ocellatus ........ PI. VIII. 
The contour of these birds is rendered remarkably round by the shortness of their tails and the fullness 
of their plumage. 
For the third section I propose the name of 
EUPSYCHOETYX, 
WITH THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS 
Rostrum breve, et gracilius quarn in Ortyge ; culmine gradatim a basi descendente, tomiis mandibuke inferioris 
denticulis duobus parvulis, apicem versus instructis; naribus modice magnis et operculo obtectis ; orbitis 
plumis indutis ; caput crista gracili elongate, decoratum; alee concavse, et rotundatse, remige primarid quartd 
cceteris longiore; cauda brevis, et e plumis duodecim flexilibus confecta ; tarsi cum digitis et unguibus modice 
longi; digitis anticis membrana basali conjunctis. 
Bill short and more slender than in Ortyx ; culmen gradually descending from the base; tomia of the under man¬ 
dible with two very slight dentations near the tip; nostrils basal, moderately large and covered with an oper¬ 
culum : orbits plumed; head decorated with a thin elongated crest; wings concave and rounded; the fourth 
primary the longest; tail short, and composed of twelve flexible feathers; tarsi spurless, and with the toes 
and nails moderately long; anterior toes united at the base by a membrane. 
