The GALEATED CURASSOW (_Urax pauxi_) is characterised by the large,
pear-shaped excrescence situated above the nostril, its thick, curved
beak, which is vaulted from its base to the tip, and the absence of a
crest upon its head. The plumage is principally of a glossy blackish
green, with white upon the belly and tip of the tail; the eye is reddish
brown, the beak red, the excrescence on the beak blueish black, and the
foot light red. The windpipe of this bird is much elongated, and after
continuing down the whole length of the pectoral muscle, forms a loop and
ascends again before entering the chest.
The Galeated Curassow is met with in flocks in the Mexican forests, where
it perches in the trees, but makes its nest upon the ground. The mother
leads forth her young in the same manner as a Hen, and feeds them at first
with worms, insects, and larvæ, but at a later period they subsist upon
grain and berries. This species is easily domesticated, and was one of
those which bred in Holland in M. Armschoff's menagerie.