MR. HUDSON’S OBSERVATIONS 
dull earth. But curiously enough, in view of the fact 
that in nature the coat seems to be invariably cut accord- 
ing to the cloth, the amount of aeration is not precisely 
correspondent with the capacity for flight. So thoroughly 
is the body of the screamer lightened in this way that 
when the skin is pressed it absolutely crackles with 
exploding bubbles. The chauna, however, though 
largely a ground bird, can fly and soar to a great height. 
Mr. W. H. Hudson described it as circling upwards like 
the lark and uttering continuously its melodious sounds 
from the topmost air. The visitor will perhaps hardly 
agree with the author of that delightful and instructive 
work, The Naturalist 1 la Plata in considering the 
screams of the chauna as tuneful ; but Mr. Hudson asserts 
that in captivity the original melody is lost ; and in any 
case a distance and rarefied air may produce a softening 
of the ear-piercing-shrieks of the captive bird more 
reminiscent of the lark than one is disposed to admit 
after a visit to the Zoo. For when a pair of these birds, 
aided by the friendly rivalry of the cariama, the other 
screamer, really lay themselves out for a prolonged 
conversation, the noise is almost insupportable. Far 
out in the wilds of Regent’s Park this awful din can 
be heard, farther away than any of the multitudinous 
sounds inherent in the menagerie. The Palamedea 
differs in a number of points from Chauna. The most 
striking unlikeness is in its possession of a single and 
small horn upon the forehead. It cannot be very ser- 
viceable either for defensive or offensive purposes, on 
account of its weakness and flexibility. Besides, if 
Palamedea, or for that matter Chauna too, feel any 
desire for aggression, and they often do, each wing has 
a hard and exceedingly serviceable horny outgrowth 
with which a formidable wound can be inflicted. These 
latter spurs are found in some other birds, for instance 
in the appropriately named “ Spur-winged Goose.” 
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