These handsome birds, from three feet to a foot and a half in length, frequent forests near the coast or wooded ravines on rivers, attaining at times an elevation of several thousand feet. They are often tame and show great curiosity, _Ortalis_ being commonly gregarious and pugnacious; some forms, moreover, rarely seek the ground and are only to be seen perched among the branches, but others haunt the undergrowth in the mid-day heat, and _Nothocrax_ is asserted to take refuge occasionally in hollow trees. The food consists of leaves and fruit, ordinarily procured in the morning or evening, while various species scratch among the débris like Pheasants. The flight is generally heavy and rapid, _Chamaepetes_ in particular descending with a noisy rush and stiffened wings; the alarm-note is loud and harsh, and in _Penelope_ cackling, but the more usual triple cry is clear and ringing, while _Ortalis_ utters a softer call, and vociferates in rattling chorus. The carelessly-constructed nest of twigs, grass, moss, and leaves is of considerable size, and is placed on the horizontal branch of a tree, in a bush, or on a stump, the two to five eggs–smaller than those of a hen–being white, with a hard granulated shell. The young soon climb and hop about the boughs like the adults, of which the flesh is considered a delicacy. Several species are {196}readily domesticated, but rarely breed in confinement. Hybrids with domestic fowls have been recorded. Except where mentioned below the sexes are alike. [Illustration: FIG. 45.–Crested Curassow. _Crax alector._ × ⅐.]