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Briefly and roughly to describe it: in size it is like a swan, in shape like a lapwing, only with a powerful curved gallinaceous beak. It is adorned with a long pointed crest and a black neck-ring, the plumage being otherwise of a pale slaty blue, while the legs and the naked skin about the eyes are bright red.
Gallinaceae, frequency of polygamous habits and of sexual differences in the; love-gestures of; decomposed feathers in; stripes of young; comparative sexual differences between the species of; plumage of. Gallinaceous birds, weapons of the male; racket-shaped feathers on the heads of. Gallinula chloropus, pugnacity of the male. Galloperdix, spurs of; development of spurs in the female.
No one probably will dispute that many gallinaceous birds which live on the open ground, have acquired their present colours, at least in part, for the sake of protection. We know how well they are thus concealed; we know that ptarmigans, whilst changing from their winter to their summer plumage, both of which are protective, suffer greatly from birds of prey.
Fourteen long quill feathers diverge on each side of the metacarpal and phalangial bones, and decrease in length from 6 inches to 1 inch. The wings have a general resemblance to those of gallinaceous birds. The tarso-metatarsal, or drumstick, exhibits at its distal end a trifid articular surface supporting three toes, as in birds.
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