The FIELD STORKS (_Arvicolæ_) have a short or moderately long bill, with soft base and horny tip; high feet, furnished with small toes, the hinder of which is too short to reach the ground; and medium-sized or short wings. The tail is of various lengths, and the plumage rather thick; the cheek-stripes and a patch around the eye are bare. These birds are natives of South America, where they frequent dry, cultivated districts, and subsist upon seeds and insects; their nests are placed on or near the ground; the eggs are of uniform hue. * * * * * The SNAKE CRANES (_Dicholophus_) constitute a group of remarkable birds, having a slender body, long neck, moderately large head, and short, hard, powerful wings, in which the fourth and fifth quills are longer than the rest, and shoulder-feathers prolonged. The long, decidedly-rounded tail is formed of ten feathers, the slender beak is shorter than the head, slightly compressed, straight or curved, and hooked at its tip. The long legs are unfeathered, and the short toes armed with thick, hooked, and pointed claws, resembling those of a bird of prey. The head-feathers are soft, long, and pointed; and those on the brow graduated from the base of the beak, till they form an upright crest. The plumage on the belly and rump is of downy texture, and that about the base of the bill bristle-like; the cheek-stripes are bare. THE BRAZILIAN CARIAMA, OR CRESTED SCREAMER. [Illustration: CROWNED, DEMOISELLE, AND COMMON CRANES.] The BRAZILIAN CARIAMA, or CRESTED SCREAMER (_Dicholophus cristatus_), has grey plumage, each feather delicately marked with zigzag lines of various shades; upon the breast, the feathers are only marked upon the shaft; and those on the lower belly are without any lines. The long feathers on the head and neck are blackish brown, the quills brown, striped with white; the two centre tail-feathers are greyish brown, the rest blackish brown in the middle, and white at the base and tip. The eyes are light sulphur-yellow, the cheek-stripes greyish flesh-pink, the bare eye-rings blueish, and the feet reddish brown in front, and bright red at their sides; the beak is coral-red. The female has shorter feathers on her head and a yellowish shade in her plumage. The young resemble the mother. This bird is from thirty-one to thirty-two inches long; the wing measures fourteen and the tail twelve inches. [Illustration: THE CARIAMA, OR CRESTED SCREAMER (_Dicholophus cristatus_). ONE-SIXTH NATURAL SIZE.]