The MACUCA (_Trachypelmus Brasiliensis_) represents a division of the
_Crypturidæ_ possessing well-developed tail-feathers. The characteristics
of this group are powerful bodies; short thin necks; small heads; strong,
arched, and much-rounded wings, in which the fifth quill exceeds the rest
in length; a moderately short, slightly-rounded tail, which is entirely
concealed beneath the feathers of the upper covers; and strong feet,
furnished with short, slightly-rounded toes. The hinder toe is very small,
and placed high. Upon the back the plumage is reddish brown, marked with
undulatory black lines; the breast and belly are yellowish grey; the
leg-feathers have dark markings, and each side of the throat is decorated
with a reddish yellow line. The plumage of the Macuca is reddish brown,
broadly marked with black upon the back; the belly and breast are of paler
hue, and more delicately striped; the throat is whitish, and the sides
of the neck mottled with black and white. The eye is greyish brown; the
beak dark brown above, light grey at its sides; and the foot lead-colour.
This species is eighteen inches and two-thirds long, and thirty-one inches
broad; the wing measures seven, and the tail four inches.
The Macuca, we learn from the Prince von Wied, inhabits the large forests
of the warmer portion of South America. It runs with facility, and passes
the day in searching for fruits and berries upon the ground. As night
approaches it rises, with a very peculiar rustling of its wings, on to
the branches of the trees. The cry of this species is deep, dull, and
resonant, and is heard most frequently in the early morning and evening.
The stomachs of some specimens examined by the above naturalist contained
red berries, large hard fruit, and the remains of beetles and insects,
together with gravel and small stones.
The same authority states that the Macuca lays nine or ten large eggs, of
a blueish green colour, which are deposited in a slight depression in the
ground, about September, and that the females brood with so much zeal that
upon several occasions they allowed themselves to be seized by his dogs
rather than desert their little family. The flesh of the Macuca is highly
esteemed, and consequently this bird is an object of ardent pursuit to the
sportsman, who sometimes allures it by imitating its cry. A great variety
of snares are also employed for its capture by night.
* * * * *
The SPUR-FOWLS (_Galloperdices_) seem to constitute a distinct group,
remarkable on account of the formidable character of their spurs, and the
richness and variety of their colours, as exemplified in