. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE DODO. 369. The position held by the celebrated Dodo among birds was long doubtful, and was only settled in comparatively late years by careful examination of the few relics which are our sole and scanty records of this very remarkable bird. So plentiful were the Dodos at one time, and so easily were they killed, that the sailors were in the habit of slaying the birds merely for the sake of the stones in their stomachs, these being found very efficacious in sharpening their clasp-knives. The nest of the Dodo was a mere heap of fallen leaves gathered
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE DODO. 369. The position held by the celebrated Dodo among birds was long doubtful, and was only settled in comparatively late years by careful examination of the few relics which are our sole and scanty records of this very remarkable bird. So plentiful were the Dodos at one time, and so easily were they killed, that the sailors were in the habit of slaying the birds merely for the sake of the stones in their stomachs, these being found very efficacious in sharpening their clasp-knives. The nest of the Dodo was a mere heap of fallen leaves gathered together on the ground, and the bird laid but one large egg. The weight of one full-grown Dodo was said to be between forty and fifty pounds. The colour of the plumage was a greyish brown in the adult turtle (r«^to;-a«r»te) males, not unlike that of the ostrich, while the plumage of the females was of a paler hue. Leaving the pigeons, we now come to the large and important order of birds termed scientifically the Gallinas, and, more popularly, the Poultry. Sometimes they are termed Rasores, or Scrapers, from their habit of scraping up the ground in search of food. To this order belong our domestic poultry, the grouse, partridges, and quails, the turkeys, pheasants, and many other useful and interesting birds. Our first example of these birds is the Crested Curassow, the repre- sentative of the genus Crax, in which are to be found a number of truly splendid birds. All the Curassows are natives of tropical Ame- rica, and are found al- most wholly in the forests. The Crested Curas- sow inhabits the thickly wooded districts of Gui- ana, Mexico, and Brazil, and is very plentifully found in those coun- tries. It is a really handsome bird, nearly as large as the turkey, and more imposing in form and colour. It is gregarious in its habits, and assembles together in large troops, mostly perched on the branches of trees. It is suscepti- ble of domestication, and, to all appearan
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
