PSOPHIA, Lin. &c. AGAMI, or TRUMPETER.
Bill short, arched, conical, curved, much bent at the tip, the upper larger than the lower mandible ; the nasal foss wide and extended ; nostrils near the middle of the bill, wide, diagonal, covered in front, and closed behind by a naked membrane; legs long and slender, the middle and inner toe united, the outer separated, the hinder internally articulated, and on a level with those in front ; wings short and concave; tail very short. There is only one known species.
P. crc/zitans, Lin. &c. Golden-breusted ?gami, or Trumpeter. General plumage black, back grey, breast glossy green, orbits naked and red. The feathers of the head are downy, those of the lower part of the neck squa milorm, of the shoulders ferruginous, lax, pendulous, and silky ; scapulars long and hanging. Nearly twenty-two inches long, and about the size of the common domestic fowl. The young retain their down, or rather their first filamentous feathers, much longer than our chickens or young partridges; and their genuine plumage does not make its appearance until they have attained one-fourth part of their growth. Owing to the shortness of its wings and tail, the agami flies heavily ; but it runs very nimbly like the partridge; and, when compelled to rise on wing, it halts every now and then on the ground, or on some hranch of a tree. The female has two or three broods in the year, and lays at a time from ten even to sixteen eggs, of a light green cast, nearly spherical, and a little larger than those of the domestic hen. She places them in a hollow, which she scratches in the earth, at the foot of a tree, and without the interposition of any foreign materials. The agami will frequently stand on ne leg, and it sleeps with its head drawn in between its shoulders.
These birds are spread over the warmer parts of South America, and are found, in pretty numerous troops, in Guiana. As they scarcely attempt to elude the sports
man's approach, a whole flock will sometimes fall victims to their familiar and confident disposition. But this ap parent carelessness is not the effect of stupidity ; for few birds are more attached to mankind, more docile in a do mesticated state, more sensible to attentions, or the want of them, or more intellectual. The againi, in short, among birds, is, in some measure, the counterpart of the dog among quadrupeds. Like the latter, it is obedient to the voice of its master, follows or precedes him on a journey, quits him with regret, and hails his return with gladness. Sensible to caresses, it repays them with every expression of affection and gratitude; and, if any person approaches very closely to its master, it testifies its uneasiness and jealousy by darting on the legs of the intruder. It delights to have its head and neck scratched; and, when habituated to this indulgence, it is very importunate for its renewal. It recognizes the friends of the family, and honours them with its civilities; but it harasses other people, without any apparent reason, and will even pursue them as foes. It attacks, with singular obstinacy, animals larger, and better armed than itself, and never quits them till it puts them to flight. In several districts of South America; it is entrusted with the charge of the poultry, and even of the sheep, which it conducts home every evening. Besides a shrill cry, like that of the turkey cock, it frequently ut ters a hollow noise, like that of a trumpet, conveyed, as if from the interior of the body, and which seems to be a signal for calling the stragglers together, for it is readily de coyed by the imitation of it. Its flesh, though dry and hard, is not unsavoury, and that of the young is still more palatable.