PENELOPE. 
536 
the bird tan ere£l as a creft at will. The general colour of 
the plumage is brownifh black, gloffed with copper in 
fome lights; but the wing-coverts have a greenifh and 
violet glofs: the quills moftly incline to purple. The fore 
part of the neck, breaft, and belly, are marked with white 
fpots; the thighs, under tail-coverts, and the tail, brown¬ 
ifh black : the legs are red, and deftitute of fpurs; claws 
black. Some of thefe birds are obferved to have little or 
no creft, and are fuppofcd to be females. It inhabits Bra- 
fil, where it is often made tame. It frequently utters a 
noife not unlike the word jacu. The flefn is much ef- 
teemed. 
Dr. John Latham, of Romfey, in a raoft elaborate 
Efl'ay on the Tracheae of Birds, read before the Linnsean 
Society in 1797, has noticed wherein fome fpecies of this 
genus differ from the ordinary conformation in that par¬ 
ticular. But heprevioufly obferves, that “ in molt birds 
the natural fhape of the trachea, afpera arteria, or wind¬ 
pipe, by all which names this part is known, is that of a 
regularly-uniform cylinder of equal diameter, or nearly 
fo, throughout, from its rife at the root of the tongue to 
its entrance into the hollow of the thorax, fternum, or 
breaft-bone, where it divides into two branches called 
bronchi®, which ramify into air-veffels which compofe 
the two lobes of the lungs. This, I fay, is the general 
mode of conftrudtion : but ornithologifts pretty far back 
have noticed nature’s deviation from this ufual ftrufture, 
both in refpedt to the various curvatures of the windpipe 
itfelf, as well as the difference of fome from others in re- 
fpedt to conformation ; but their fentiments were penned 
in too vague a manner to determine much thereon, not 
anfwering the purpofe further than to ftimulate our fu¬ 
ture refearches. As far as the deviation from a cylindri¬ 
cal fhape is concerned, it is obfervable that the peculiar 
difference in ftruff ure is feen only in the male fex, the fe¬ 
male not having theleaft enlargement, or increafed cavity, 
as will hereafter be mentioned : but to what purpofe na¬ 
ture has intended this, is, I believe, at prefent un¬ 
known to us. Some authors have given as their opinion, 
that the enlargement of the trachea in males, whenever 
it happens, ferves to increafe the tone of voice; and that 
this iex is enabled, by means of it, to cry out more forci¬ 
bly than thole birds which have no fuch conftrudtion of 
parts, an inftance of which is pointed out in the golden- 
eve duck, the Latin name of which (Anas clavgula ) has 
been given to it from this fuppcfed circumftance. In 
refpeft to what affiftance fuch a conftruflion of parts as 
above faid may afford to the tone of the voice, I will not 
venture here to affirm ; for it cannot be denied that fome 
birds are able to utter very loud founds without fuch 
aid, witnefs the cock, peacock, and others. We fee Na¬ 
ture’s operations and admire them in courfe, yet cannot 
always comprehend the utility of her works ; and this 
feems one of her defigns concerning which we are net at 
all clear. 
“ In the quan, or guar, the wundpipe not only de- 
feends much lower on the breaft, but at the bottom part 
it doubles upwards for at leaft one-third of its length. 
It differs alfo in another particular; for, inftead of ma¬ 
king a defeent on the left fide, it paffes down on the right, 
and, contrary to the others, returns upwards, and goes 
into the cavity of the thorax over the left clavicle.” 
3. Penelope Cumanenfis, the Cayenne penelcpe, or 
yacou: hlackifh ; creft and firft quill-feathers white. 
This is alfo larger than a fow l. The bill black ; the head- 
feathers long and pointed, forming a creft, which can be 
erefted at pleafure; irides pale rufous; fpace round the 
eyes naked, of a bluifh colour, and not unlike that of a 
turkey : it has alfo a naked membrane, or kind of wattle, 
of a dull black; the blue fkin comes forward on the bill, 
but is not liable to change colour like that of the turkey. 
The plumage has not much variation ; it is chiefly brown, 
with fome white markings on the neck, breaft, wing- 
coverts, and belly'; the tail is pretty long, and even at 
the end ; legs red. This is found at Cayenne, but is a 
rare bird, being met with only in the interior parts, cr 
about the Amazons country : though it is in much greater 
plenty up the river Oyapoc, efpecially towards Camoupi: 
and indeed thofe that are feen at Cayenne are moftly tame 
ones; for it is a familiar bird, and will breed in that ftate, 
and mix with other poultry. It makes its neft on the 
ground, and hatches its young there, but is at other times 
moftly feen on trees. It will frequently ereft its creft, 
when pleafed or taken notice of, and likewife fpread the 
tail upright, like a fan, in the manner of the turkey. 
It has two kinds of cry ; one like that of a young turkey, 
the other more plaintive : the firft of thefe is thought by 
the Indians toexprefs the word couyavoit , the othert/aeo?*, 
4.. Penelope marail, the green penelope, or marail : 
upper furface green; naked orbits and legs red; throat 
naked, fpeckled with white. This fpecies is of the fize of 
a fowl, and not unlike it in fhape. The bill and irides 
blackifh ; fpace round the eye bare, and of a pale red ; 
chin, throat, and fore-part of the neck, barely covered 
with feathers: but the throat itfelf is bare, and the mem¬ 
brane elongated to half an inch more; both this, and the 
fkin round the eyes, change colour, and become deeper 
and thicker when the bird is irritated: head-feathers 
longifh, fo as to appear like a creft when raifed up, which 
the bird often does when agitated ; at w’hich time it alfo 
erefts thofe of the whole head, and fo disfigures itfelf as 
to be fcarcely known. The general colour of the plumage 
is a greenifh black ; the fore-part of the neck tipped with 
white. The wings are fhort; the tail long, even at the 
end, andean be lifted up and fpread out like that of a 
turkey ; the legs and toes of a bright red ; claws crooked, 
and fomewhat fharp. This fpecies is common in the 
woods of Guiana, at a diftancefrom the fea, though it is 
much lefs known than could be imagined. They are 
generally found in fmall flocks, except in breeding-time, 
when they are only feen by pairs, and then frequently on 
the ground, or on low fhrubs; at other times on high trees, 
where they rooft. The female makes her neft on fome 
low bufhy tree, as near the trunk as poffible, and lays 
three or four eggs. When the young are hatched, they 
defeend with their mother, after ten or twelve days. 
The mother a£ts as other fowls, fcratchingon the ground 
like a hen, and brooding the young, which quit their 
nurfe the moment they can fhift for themfelves. They 
have two broods in a year; one in December or January, 
the other in May or June. The young birds are eafiiy 
tamed, and feldcm forfake the places where they have 
been brought up; they need not be houfed,as they prefer 
rooftingon tall trees to any other place. Their cry is not 
inharmonious, except when irritated or w'ounded, when 
it is liarfh and loud. The flefh is much efteemed. 
Bufron fuppofes this bird to be the female of the yacou, 
or at leaft a variety; but that this cannot be, the anato¬ 
mical infpedtion will at once determine. The windpipe 
of this bird has a Angular conftrudtion, palling along the 
neck to the entrance of the breaft, where it rifes on the 
outfide of the flefh, and, after going a little way down¬ 
wards, returns, and then paffes into the cavity to the 
lungs. It is kept in its place on the outfide by a muf- 
cular ligament, which is perceivable quite to the breaft- 
bone. This is found to be the cafe in both male and fe¬ 
male, and plainly proves that it differs from the yacou, 
whole windpipe has been already deferibed. 
If this be the bird mentioned by Fermin, in his hiftory 
of Guiana, he fays that the creft is cuneiform, and of a 
black-and-u'hite colour ; and obferves that they are very 
fcarce at Surinam. Bancroft mentions a bird of Guiana 
by the name of marrod.ee, which, he fays, is wholly of a 
brownifh black ; the bill the fame ; legs grey. Thefe, he 
fays, are common, and make a noife notunlike the name 
given it, perching on trees. The Indians imitate their 
cry fo exadlly as to lead to the difeovery of the place the 
birds are in, by their anfwering it. The flefh of them is 
like that of a fowl. This is probably a variety of our fpe¬ 
cies. 
The figures on the annexed Plate correfpond with the 
four fpecies above deferibed. 
5. Penelope 
