DICHOLOPHUS, Illig. Tern. LOPHORHYNCHUS, Vieil. LAMEDEA, Lath. CARIAMA, Or SCREAMER.
Bill longer than the head, strong, arched, cleft even under the eyes, depressed at the base, compressed at the tip, which is curved and a little hooked ; nasal foss large; nostrils in the middle of the bill small, open in front, cover ed with a membrane; legs long and slender ; toes very short and thick, the anterior united at the base by a mem brane, the hinder articulated to the tarsus, and not touch ing the ground ; claws short and strong ; wings moderate and spineless.
D. cristatus, Illig. Lophorhynchus saurophagus,Vieil. Palanzedea cristata, Lath. Crested Cariama, or Screamer. Feathers of the body, and of the upper part of the head, white, those of the neck, throat, and breast, whitish-brown, long, with very feeble shafts, and lax vanes. Native of Brazil, and smile other parts of South America, where it frequents the iputskirts of dry and' elevated forests, and particularly stony hills, feeding chiefly on terrestrial rep tiles and insects. Azara seems to he convinced, that it
never drinks or eats the seeds of plants. It is found either in pairs or in small flocks. It perceives a man at a great distance, and immediately takes to running swiftly ; nor does it rise on wing, unless urged to extremity. Though rendered domestic, it hears its head and neck erect, and assumes a haughty air, and a grave and measured step.
When suspicious of danger, it explores attentively all around before it resolves either to remain or shift its sta tion ; and it never molests any other birds. Its cry is sharp, and not unlike that of a young turkey, but so loud that it is heard at the distance of a mile. On account of the delicacy of its flesh, the Spaniards rank it among pheasants.