Chapter XX: Nothura Darwini 213 (10)

_Description._--Forehead and underparts white; loral stripe, head,
and nape black; back, rump, inner primaries, and inner web of tail
pale slate-grey; outer primaries blackish; bill yellow; legs and
feet olive-yellow: whole length 8·5 inches, wing 7·0. In the young
bird the crown is grey.

_Hab._ The large rivers and the coast on the east side of South America.

This is a little Tern, belonging to the same group as the European _Sterna minuta_, with a uniform pale yellow bill. Durnford met with it at Baradero, and says that it frequents shallow inland lagoons and small streams, but is also found on the Rio de la Plata. Dr. Burmeister obtained it on the Paraná, and White at Itapua, Misiones. Saunders shot it on the Huallaga, in Peru, 2800 miles inland.

416. LARUS DOMINICANUS, Licht.

(DOMINICAN GULL.)

+Larus dominicanus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 148; _iid. P. Z. S._
1871, p. 576; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 45 (Chupat) et p. 201
(Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 405 (Chupat); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884,
p. 316 (Pampas); _Saunders, P. Z. S._ 1878. p. 180; _Withington,
Ibis_, 1888, p. 472 (Lomas de Zamora). +Larus vociferus+, _Burm.
La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 518 (Buenos Ayres).

_Description._--Mantle brownish-black; primaries black, with white
tips, and a subapical patch in old birds; rest of plumage white;
bill yellow, orange at angle of lower mandible; legs and feet olive:
whole length 21·0-22·0 inches, wing 17·0-18·0. _Young_ mottled
brown.

_Hab._ Both coasts of South America, from Peru on the west and Rio on the east, to Patagonia and Falkland Islands.

The Dominican Gull, which belongs to the same section of the group as the well-known Black-backed Gulls of Europe, is common throughout the Plata district in winter, from April to August. During the summer months it confines itself to the Atlantic coast, and breeds in large numbers in the neighbourhood of Bahia Blanca, on the extensive sand-banks and mud-flats there; and in other suitable localities further south. Durnford found it nesting at Tombo Point, sixty miles south of the Chupat river.

At the approach of cold weather the Dominican Gulls leave the sea-shore and wander inland and northward. At this season they are exclusively flesh-eaters, with a preference for fresh meat; and when the hide has been stripped from a dead cow or horse they begin to appear, vulture-like, announcing their approach with their usual long hoarse pelagic cries, and occasionally, as they circle about in the air, joining their voices in a laughter-like chorus of rapidly-repeated notes. Their winter movements are very irregular; in some seasons they are rare, and in others so abundant that they crowd out the Hooded Gulls and Carrion-Hawks from the carcass; I have seen as many as five to six hundred Dominicans massed round a dead cow.

417. LARUS MACULIPENNIS, Licht.

(SPOT-WINGED GULL.)

+Larus maculipennis+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 148; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1877, p. 202 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 405 (Centr.
Patagonia); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 628 (Buenos Ayres);
_Saunders, P. Z. S._ 1878, p. 201; _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p.
472 (Lomas de Zamora). +Larus serranus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_,
ii. p. 519. +Larus cirrhocephalus+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._
1868, p. 146 (Buenos Ayres); _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1871, p. 4.

_Description._--Head and nape brownish-black (in breeding-dress);
tail and underparts white; mantle pale grey; primaries black or dark
grey, tipped with white, and with large elongated white patches on
the outer portions of first to fifth, followed by a subapical _black
bar_ (in _L. glaucodes_ the lower portion is _white_): underwing
_pale grey_; bill, legs, and feet blood-red: length 16·0-17·0
inches, wing 11·5.

_Hab._ Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and La Plata.

This common Black-hooded Gull is found throughout the Argentine country, down to Chupat in Patagonia, and is exceedingly abundant on the pampas of Buenos Ayres, where it is simply called _Gaviota_. In the month of October they congregate in their breeding-places--extensive inland marshes, partially overgrown with rushes. The nests are formed of weeds and rushes, placed just above the water and near together, several hundreds being sometimes found within an area of less than one quarter of an acre. The eggs are four in number, large for the bird, obtusely pointed, of a pale clay-colour, thickly spotted at the big end and sparsely on the other parts with black.

Every morning, at break of day, the Gulls rise up from their nests and hover in a cloud over the marsh, producing so great a noise with their mingled cries that it can be heard distinctly at a distance of two miles. The eggs are considered a great delicacy, resembling those of the Plover in taste and appearance, and are consequently much sought after, so that when the locality near which a gullery is situated becomes inhabited the birds have no chance of rearing their young, as the boys in the neighbourhood ride into the marsh every morning to gather the eggs. The Gulls are, however, very tenacious of their old breeding-places, and continue even after years of persecution to resort to them.

The young birds are of a pale grey colour, mottled with dull brown, and have a whining querulous cry. The plumage becomes lighter through the autumn and winter, but it is not until the ensuing summer, when the dark brown nuptial hood is assumed, that the young birds acquire the perfect plumage--soft grey-blue above, and the white bosom with its lovely pink blush.

As soon as the young are able to fly the breeding-place is forsaken, the whole concourse leaving in a body, or scattering in all directions over the surrounding country; and until the following summer their movements depend entirely on food and water. If the weather is dry the Gulls disappear altogether; and if grasshoppers become abundant the country people wish for rain to bring the Gulls. When it rains then the birds quickly appear, literally from the clouds, and often in such numbers as to free the earth from the plague of devastating insects. It is a fine and welcome sight to see a white cloud of birds settle on the afflicted district; and at such times their mode of proceeding is so regular that the flock well deserves the appellation of an army. They sweep down with a swift graceful flight and settle on the earth with loud joyful cries, but do not abandon the order of attack when the work of devouring has begun. The flock often presents a front of over a thousand feet, with a depth of sixty or seventy feet; all along this line of battle the excited cries of the birds produce a loud continuous noise; all the birds are incessantly on the move, some skimming along the surface with expanded wings, others pursuing the fugitives through the air, while all the time the hindmost birds are flying over the flock to alight in the front ranks, so that the whole body is steadily advancing, devouring the grasshoppers as it proceeds. When they first arrive they seem ravenously hungry, and after gorging themselves they fly to the water, where after drinking they cast up their food and then go back to renew the battle.

In spring these Gulls come about the farms to follow the plough, filling the new-made furrows from end to end, hovering in a cloud over the ploughman's head and following at his heels, a screaming, fighting crowd. When feeding they invariably keep up a great noise. Wilson's expression in describing a northern species, that its cry "is like the excessive laugh of a negro," is also descriptive of the language of our bird. Its peculiar cry is lengthened at will and inflected a thousand ways, and interspersed with numerous short notes, like excited exclamations. After feeding they always fly to the nearest water to drink and bathe their feathers, after which they retire to some open spot in the neighbourhood where there is a carpet of short grass. They invariably sit close together with their bills toward the wind, and the observer will watch the flock in vain to see one bird out of this beautiful order. They do not stand up to fly, but rise directly from a sitting posture. Usually the wings are flapped twice or thrice before the body is raised from the ground.

In some seasons in August and September, after a period of warm wet weather, the larvæ of the large horned beetle rise to the surface, throwing up little mounds of earth as moles do; often they are so numerous as to give the plains, where the grass has been very closely cropped, the appearance of being covered with mud. These insects afford a rich harvest to the Spur-winged Lapwing (_Vanellus cayennensis_), which in such seasons of plenty are to be seen all day diligently running about, probing and dislodging them from beneath the fresh hillocks. The Gulls, unprovided with a probing beak, avail themselves of their superior cunning and violence to rob the Lapwings; and I have often watched their proceedings for hours with the greatest interest. Hundreds of Lapwings are perhaps visible running busily about on all sides; near each one a Gull is quietly stationed, watching the movements of its intended dupe with the closest attention. The instant a great snow-white grub is extracted the Gull makes a rush to seize it, the Lapwing flies, and a violent chase ensues. After a hundred vain doublings the Plover drops the prize, and slopes toward the earth with a disappointed cry; the pursuer checks his flight, hovers a moment watching the grub fall, then drops down upon it, gobbles it up, and hastens after the Lapwing to resume his watch.

Many of these Gulls haunt the estancias to feed on the garbage usually found in abundance about cattle-breeding establishments. When a cow is slaughtered they collect in large numbers and quarrel with the domestic poultry over the offal. They are also faithful attendants at the shepherd's hut; and if a dead lamb remains in the fold when the flock goes to pasture they regale on it in company with the Chimango. The great _Saladeros_, or slaughter-grounds, which were formerly close to Buenos Ayres, are also frequented by hosts of these neat and beautiful scavengers. Here numbers may be seen hovering overhead, and mingling their excited screams with the bellowing of half-wild cattle and the shouts of the slaughterers at their rough work; and at intervals, wherever a little space is allowed them, dropping themselves on to the ground, which reeks with blood and offal, and greedily snatching up whatever morsels they can on the instant, and yet getting no stain or speck on their delicate dress of lily-white and ethereal blue.

On the open pampas their curiosity and anger seems greatly excited at the appearance of a person on foot; no sooner has the Gull spied him than it sweeps toward him with a rapid flight, uttering loud indignant screams that never fail to attract all of its fellows within hearing distance. These all pass and repass, hovering over the pedestrian's head, screaming all the time as if highly incensed, and finally retire, joining their voices in a kind of chorus and waving their wings upwards in a slow curious manner; but often enough, when they are almost out of sight, they suddenly wheel about and hurry back screaming, with fresh zeal, to go through the whole pretty but annoying performance again.

418. LARUS CIRRHOCEPHALUS, Vieill.

(GREY-CAPPED GULL.)

+Larus cirrhocephalus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 148; _iid. P. Z.
S._ 1871, p. 578; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 201 (Buenos Ayres);
_Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 316 (Entrerios); _Saunders, P. Z. S._
1878, p. 204. +Larus maculipennis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii.
p. 518 (Paraná).

_Description._--Head (in breeding-plumage) grey, deepening in colour
on the nape and throat; tail and underparts white; mantle grey
(darker than in _L. maculipennis_); primaries black, with small
subapical white patches on first and second, and longer ones on the
outer webs of third to fifth near the base; _underwing slate-grey_;
bill, legs, and feet crimson to orange-red: length 16·0 to 17·0
inches, wing 12·25.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Uruguay, and La Plata, also coast of Peru.

The Grey-capped Gull is found on the Rio de la Plata, and as far north as Concepcion on the Uruguay in winter, where Mr. Barrows observed it in immense flocks frequenting the "_Saladeros_."

Durnford gives us the subjoined account of this species:--"I have not observed this bird to the south of Buenos Ayres, but have constantly seen it from March to July to the north of the city. Unlike _Larus maculipennis_, it never wanders inland, but frequents the shallow shores of the La Plata, feeding on dead fish or offal, and flocking round the fishermen when they are hauling their nets to get a share of the spoil. As a rule, this species does not mix with _Larus maculipennis_, though now and then they are seen together; but all the flocks or parties I have observed when flying from one spot to another have always been composed of birds of its own kind. Adults, after once attaining their pearl-grey hood, never lose it, though in winter it becomes rather lighter, and those with white heads are immature birds, which do not attain their full plumage till after their second moult. I have seen many birds throughout May and June of the present year with well-defined dark grey hoods. Some specimens, when first killed, have a delicate faint pink tinge on their underparts, also observed in _L. maculipennis_, which, however, quickly fades after death. The colour of the iris varies a good deal in different examples, being pale grey, grey with a tinge of yellow, and grey with a tinge of light wood-brown. This is probably attributable to age. The narrow rim of naked skin round the eye is dark coral-red; legs and feet the same, but of a duller shade; beak rather darker than the legs."

Order XVII. PYGOPODES.

Fam. LI. PODICIPEDIDÆ, or GREBES.

The Grebes, although perhaps more especially a development of the Arctic lands, are sparingly represented all through the tropics, and reappear in augmented numbers south of the Antarctic circle. Within the Neotropical Region nine to eleven species are met with, of which five are found inside our limits. Three of these are peculiar Patagonian species, the other two are widely spread over America.

419. ÆCHMOPHORUS MAJOR (Bodd.).

(GREAT GREBE.)

+Podiceps bicornis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 520 (Rio Paraná).
+Æchmophorus major+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 150; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1877, p. 203 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 405 (Centr.
Patagonia); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 316 (Entrerios); _White, P.
Z. S._ 1883, p. 433 (Buenos Ayres); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888,
p. 473 (Lomas de Zamora). +Podiceps chilensis+, _Darwin, Zool.
'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 137 (Buenos Ayres). +Podiceps major+, _Scl. et
Salv. Ex. Orn._ p. 190; _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 164 (Buenos
Ayres).

_Description._--Above blackish; occipital crest divided, bronzy
black; wide bar across the wing white: beneath white; chin dark
ashy; neck, breast, and sides of belly (in adult) more or less red;
bill yellowish; feet dark: whole length 21·0 inches, wing 8·0, tail
1·5.

_Hab._ South America.

This fine Grebe is said by Buffon to be from Cayenne, but we have never seen specimens from anywhere so far north. It was not obtained in Brazil by Natterer or Burmeister, but Azara met with it in Paraguay.

This Grebe is called in the vernacular _Macás cornudo_--the first word being the Indian generic name for the Grebes, while _cornudo_ signifies horned, from the bird's habit of erecting, when excited, the feathers of the nape in the form of a horn. The species is found throughout Eastern Argentina, from its northern limits to Central Patagonia, where Durnford found it common and resident. On the Rio Negro I found it abundant, and it was formerly just as common along the Plata river, but owing to its large size and the great beauty of its lustrous under plumage it is very much sought after and is becoming rare.

It is impossible to make this Grebe leave the water, and when discovered in a small pool it may be pursued until exhausted and caught with the hand; yet it must occasionally perform long journeys on the wing when passing from one isolated lake to another. Probably its journeys are performed by night.

There is little diversity in the habits of Grebes, and only once have I seen one of these birds acting in a manner which seemed very unusual. This Grebe was swimming about and disporting itself in a deep narrow pool, and showed no alarm at my presence, though I sat on the margin within twenty-five yards of it. I saw it dive and come up with a small fish about three inches long in its beak; after sitting motionless for a little while, it tossed the fish away to a considerable distance with a sudden jerk of its beak, and then at the instant the fish touched the water it dived again. Presently it emerged with the same fish, but only to fling it away and dive as before; and in this way it released and recaptured it about fifteen times, and then, tired of play, dropped it and let it escape.

Mr. Gibson has the following note on the breeding-habits of the Great Grebe, as observed at Ajo, near the mouth of Rio de La Plata:--"_P. major_ breeds about the end of August, placing its nest in the thickest rushes of the swamp. The nest, built of wet water-weeds, is raised just above the level of the water; and I have twice seen the sitting bird hastily draw some weeds over the eggs before leaving them, on my approach. The clutch consists of three; and these are of the usual Grebe colour, generally much soiled and stained. They average 2-6/40 × 1-7/40, the length sometimes presenting a variation of 9/40, even in eggs of the same nest."

420. PODICEPS CALIPARÆUS, Less.

(BRIGHT-CHEEKED GREBE.)

+Podiceps caliparæus+, _Darwin, Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 136;
_Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 150; _iid. Ex. Orn._ p. 190; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1877, p. 45 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 405 (Centr. Patagonia);
_White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 43 (Cordova).

_Description._--Above dark greyish; front of head and neck behind
pale cinereous; back of head and upper part of neck black;
ear-coverts considerably elongated, golden brown: beneath, throat
grey, paler than front of head; rest of under surface shining
white; primaries greyish brown, the innermost tipped with white;
secondaries more or less pure white, or dusky on outer webs: whole
length 11·5 inches, wing 4·7. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Antarctic America, north to Cordova.

Darwin obtained examples of this beautiful Grebe at Bahia Blanca, where, he says, "it lives in small flocks in the salt-water channels extending between the great marshes at the head of the harbour." Durnford procured specimens on both visits to Chupat, where he found it common in the lagoons in all the valleys. It is also found, though not so abundantly, in the northern provinces of the Argentine Republic. White obtained a single example at Cosquin, near Cordova, in September 1882.

421. PODICEPS ROLLANDI, Quoy et Gaim.

(ROLLAND'S GREBE.)

+Podiceps rollandi+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 159; _iid. Ex. Orn._
p. 190; _iid. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 146; _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p.
549 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 45 (Chupat); _Gibson,
Ibis_, 1880, p. 164 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 43
(Cordova); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 317 (Bahia Blanca).

_Description._--(_Summer plumage._) Above brownish black, with dark
green reflexions; all the feathers below the neck narrowly margined
with rufous; ear-coverts elongated, white at base with black tips,
and more or less covering the downy white feathers of the sides of
the head; outer half of primaries brownish grey, darker at tip;
inner half and secondaries more or less pure white, some of the
outer webs brownish or buff: beneath, neck and throat blackish
brown, shading into chestnut, burned with dusky on the lower breast
and rest of under surface. (_Winter plumage._) Above not so dark:
beneath, throat white, neck dusky rufous; rest of under surface
shining whitish buff, becoming dusky towards the vent. Whole length
11·8 inches, wing 5·4.

_Hab._ Antarctic America, north to Cordova.

Rolland's Grebe is said by Durnford to be "common in almost every pool and ditch" in Chupat. It is also common throughout Buenos Ayres, where the native name for it is _Macasíto_.

Mr. Gibson gives the following details as to its nesting-habits:--"_Podiceps rollandi_ nests during the latter half of September and beginning of October. The nest is a slight construction of water-weeds, floating on the surface of the water, and only kept stationary by the surrounding rushes. Like _P. major_, it covers the eggs before leaving them. Five is the largest clutch of eggs I have taken; they are originally of a bluish-white colour, but after some time become covered with a brown incrustation of a chalky nature. The average measurement is 1-30/40 × 1-9/40; but there is a variation of 11/40 in length and 7/40 in breadth between my largest and smallest specimens."

Specimens of this Grebe were obtained near Cordova by White in 1882.

422. TACHYBAPTES DOMINICUS (Linn.).

(AMERICAN DABCHICK.)

+Podiceps dominicus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 521 (Pampas);
_Baird, Brew., et Ridgw. Water-B. N. A._ ii. p. 438. +Tachybaptes
dominicus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 150; _Durnford, Ibis_,
1877, p. 203 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 405 (Centr. Patagonia);
_White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 629 (Buenos Ayres); _Withington,
Ibis_, 1888, p. 473 (Lomas de Zamora). +Sylbeocyclus dominicus+,
_Scl. et Salv. Ex. Orn._ p. 190.

_Description._--Above dark brown, with blackish mottlings; wings
grey, inner secondaries and under wing-coverts white: beneath
pale whitish cinereous, chin and throat pure white; neck in front
brownish; bill plumbeous, at base yellowish; feet black: whole
length 10·0 inches, wing 4·0, tail 1·0. _Female_ similar, but not
so bright.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

This representative of the well-known "Dabchick" of Europe is found throughout South and Central America. In the Argentine Republic, near Buenos Ayres, it is "resident and common in the lagoons and arroyos" (Durnford, _l. s. c._), and likewise in the Territory of Chupat.

423. PODILYMBUS PODICEPS (Linn.).

(THICK-BILLED GREBE.)

+Podilymbus podiceps+, _Baird, Brew., et Ridgw. Water-B. N. A._ ii.
p. 440; _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 473.

_Description._--Above dirty brown, varied with blackish; wings
cinereous with white tips to some of the secondaries: beneath white,
sprinkled with greyish on the breast and sides; chin and throat
black; bill short, compressed, plumbeous, crossed by a black band;
feet black: whole length 12·0 inches, wing 5·0, tail 1·0. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ North and South America.

The Thick-billed Grebe extends all through America, from Canada down to Patagonia and Chili. It does not seem to have been noticed in the Argentine Republic except by Mr. Withington, who sends us a single specimen from the Lomas de Zamora, near Buenos Ayres.

A second and larger species of this genus (_P. antarcticus_) occurs on the western side of America from Guatemala to Chili.

Order XVIII. IMPENNES.

Fam. LII. APTENODYTIDÆ, or PENGUINS.

The Penguins are a peculiar group of oceanic birds which differ essentially from all other birds in the construction of their wings and feet, and should certainly form an Order apart. They are denizens of the Antarctic sea-shores and islands, but in the Pacific go as far north as the Galapagos. On the shores and islands of South America nine species occur, one of which has been met with within our limits.

424. SPHENISCUS MAGELLANICUS (Forst.).

(JACKASS PENGUIN.)

+Spheniscus magellanicus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 151; _Scl.
Zool. Chall. Exp._ pt. viii. (Birds), p. 125, pl. xxviii.
+Aptenodytes demersa+, _Abbott, Ibis_, 1860, p. 336.

_Description._--Above bluish black; broad superciliary stripe
descending on each side of the neck white: beneath white; throat and
sides of neck, and two breast-bands, the lower narrower and produced
down the sides of the belly, black; bill and feet plumbeous: whole
length 16·0 inches, wing 7·5, tail 2·0.

_Hab._ Coasts of Antarctic America and Falkland Islands.

At the mouth of the Rio Negro Hudson once picked up a specimen of a Penguin, believed to have been of this species, which had apparently just met its death by some accident. The range of this bird, moreover, appears to extend much further north, as it is well known to the Gauchos along the coast, who call it "_Pajaro Niño_" (bird boy), from its fancied resemblance to a small human being when it stands erect on the shore.

Darwin (Nat. Voy. chap. iii.) speaks of having seen numerous Penguins in the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, when approaching Monte Video in the 'Beagle,' in July 1832; and Graf v. Berlepsch tells me he has an imperfect specimen of _Spheniscus magellanicus_ from the coast of Rio Grande do Sul, where it was picked up dead.

The "Jackass Penguin" is a well-known species in the Falkland Islands, to which it resorts in thousands for the purpose of breeding. Capt. Abbott tells us it arrives at the latter end of September and commences laying in its breeding-holes, almost to a day, on October 17. Some of these birds, however, are found on the shores of the Falkland Islands throughout the year.

Order XIX. CRYPTURI.

Fam. LIII. TINAMIDÆ, or TINAMOUS.

The Tinamous constitute one of the most singular and characteristic types of the Neotropical avifauna. Until late years they were usually associated with the Gallinæ or Game Birds, but differ very widely from them in the conformation of the skull and in other essential points of structure, and are now generally regarded as forming an Order of their own, to be placed at the base of the series of Carinatæ. About forty species of Tinamous are known, of which eight occur within our limits.

425. CRYPTURUS OBSOLETUS, Temm.

(BROWN TINAMOU.)

+Crypturus cinereus+, _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 629 (Salta) (?).
+Ynamb[=u] azulado+, _Azara, Apunt._ iii. p. 52 (Paraguay).
+Crypturus obsoletus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 152.

_Description._--Above reddish brown; head blackish; sides of head
pale cinereous: beneath chestnut-brown; chin pale cinereous;
lower half of abdomen pale ochraceous, distinctly barred with
undulating black bands; bill brown, yellowish at the base; feet
dark flesh-colour: whole length 12·0 inches, wing 6·2, tail 1·8.

_Hab._ Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina.

White refers a Tinamou which he shot at Oran in November 1880 to _Crypturus cinereus_. There can be little doubt, however, that the specimen in question really belonged to the allied species _C. obsoletus_, which is known to occur in Paraguay. The true _C. cinereus_ is from a much more northern locality, and is not likely to be found in Argentina.

426. CRYPTURUS TATAUPA (Temm.).

(TATAUPA TINAMOU.)

+Crypturus tataupa+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 152; _Salvin, Ibis_,
1880, p. 364 (Salta); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 629, (Oran).
+Ynamb[=u] tat[=a]up[=a]+, _Azara, Apunt._ iii. p. 48.

_Description._--Above chestnut-brown; head and neck dark cinereous:
beneath cinereous; throat white; middle of belly white; flanks
and crissum varied with undulating bars of black and white; bill
yellowish; feet dark ashy: whole length 10·0 inches, wing 5·2, tail
1·8. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina.

The Tataupa Tinamou was first described by Azara as an inhabitant of Paraguay, whence it extends into the northern provinces of the Argentine Republic. White obtained specimens among the undergrowth in the dense forests of Campo Colorado, near Oran, and Durnford also met with it near Salta.

To Azara's interesting account of the Tataupa's habits nothing has been recently added. He says that this species inhabits woods and thickets, and also approaches houses where it finds cover--hence the Guarani name, which means a bird of the house. It lays four eggs of a fine purple colour; and when driven from the nest flutters along the ground, feigning lameness. It sings all the year round, and for power and brilliance of voice is preeminent among this class of birds. After the first note of its curious song there is an interval of eight seconds of silence; then the note is repeated with shorter and shorter intervals, until, becoming hurried, they run into a trill, followed by a sound which may be written _chororó_, repeated three or four times. When sitting close it tips forward, pressing its breast on its legs, so that the rump is raised higher than the back, and opening the terminal feathers of the body, it spreads them in a semicircle over the back as if to conceal itself beneath them, and when looked at from behind nothing is visible except this fan of feathers. The feathers are concave with points inclining upward, and when thus disposed have a strange and beautiful appearance.

427. RHYNCHOTUS RUFESCENS (Temm.).

(GREAT TINAMOU.)

+Rhynchotus rufescens+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 498 (Paraná,
Rosario, Tucuman); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 153; _Hudson, P.
Z. S._ 1872, p. 546 (Buenos Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p.
263 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 317 (Entrerios);
_Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 473 (Lomas de Zamora).

_Description._--Above cinereous; head, wings, and back crossed by
black bars with pale ochraceous edgings; neck reddish; primaries
chestnut: beneath pale cinereous, strongly tinged with rufous on the
neck and breast; chin white; bill ashy, beneath at base yellowish;
feet dark flesh-colour: whole length 14·0 inches, wing 9·5, tail
3·0. _Female_ similar, but larger.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

This large Tinamou, known to the Argentines as the _Perdiz grande_, or "Great Partridge," is found on the pampas wherever long grasses abound, and extends as far south as the Colorado river, its place being taken in Patagonia by _Calodromas elegans_. It is never met with in woods or thickets, and requires no shelter but the giant grasses, through which it pushes like a Rail. Wherever the country becomes settled and the coarse indigenous grasses are replaced by those of Europe, it quickly disappears, so that it is already extinct over a great portion of the Buenos Ayrean pampas.

This species is solitary in its habits, conceals itself very closely in the grass, and flies with the greatest reluctance. I doubt if there is anywhere a bird with such a sounding flight as the Tinamou; the whir of its wings can only be compared to the rattling of a vehicle driven at great speed over a stony road. From the moment it rises until it alights again there is no cessation in the rapid vibration of the wings; but, like a ball thrown by the hand, the bird flies straight away with extraordinary violence until the impelling force is spent, when it slopes gradually towards the earth, the distance it is able to accomplish at a flight being from 800 to 1500 yards. This flight it can repeat when driven up again as many as three times, after which the bird can rise no more.

The call of the Large Partridge is heard, in fine weather, at all seasons of the year, especially near sunset, and is uttered while the bird sits concealed in the grass, many individuals answering each other; for although I call it a solitary bird, it being a rare thing to see even two together, many birds are usually found living near each other. The song or call is composed of five or six notes of various length, with a mellow flute-like sound, and so expressive that it is, perhaps, the sweetest bird-music heard on the pampas.

The eggs are usually five in number, nearly round, highly polished, and of a dark-reddish-purple or wine colour; but this beautiful tint in a short time changes to a dull leaden hue. The nest is a mere scrape, insufficiently lined with a few grass-leaves. The young birds appear to leave the mother (or father, for it is probable that the male hatches the eggs) at a very early period. When still very small they are found living, like the adults, a solitary life, with their facilities, including those of flight and the melodious voice, in a high state of perfection.

428. NOTHOPROCTA PENTLANDI (Gray).

(PENTLAND'S TINAMOU.)

+Rhynchotus pentlandii+, _G. R. Gray, List of Gall. B. M._ p. 103
(1867). +Rhynchotus punctulatus+, _G. R. Gray, ibid._ (jr.).
+Nothoprocta doeringi+, _Cab. J. f. O._ 1878, p. 198 (Cordova);
_White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 432 (Cordova).

_Description._--Above cinereous; head and back banded with black
bars, which are bordered with ochraceous; back also varied with
longitudinal whitish streaks; wings cinereous, with pale ochraceous
cross bars on the outer webs: beneath pale cinereous; throat
whitish; breast and sides of belly with rounded whitish spots;
middle of belly creamy white; bill and feet reddish: whole length
8·0 inches, wing 5·5, tail 2·0.

_Hab._ Andes of Bolivia and Northern Argentina.

We have been able to compare a typical specimen of _Nothoprocta doeringi_, received from Dr. Doering of Cordova, with the series of specimens of this group in the British Museum, and find that Dr. Cabanis's name must give way to G. R. Gray's prior designation. Dr. Doering's specimens of this species were obtained in the Sierra de Cordova. The original example of _Nothoprocta pentlandi_ was procured by Pentland, the well-known scientific traveller (after whom it is called), in the Andes of Bolivia.

429. NOTHOPROCTA CINERASCENS (Burm.).

(CINEREOUS TINAMOU.)

+Nothura cinerascens+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 498 (Cordova,
Tucuman); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 364 (Tucuman); _White, P. Z.
S._ 1883, p. 43 (Cordova). +Nothoprocta cinerascens+, _Cab. J. f.
O._ 1878, p. 198 (Cordova).

_Description._--Above cinereous; head and whole back banded with
black and pale brown and streaked with fulvous white: beneath pale
ashy white; breast and flanks banded and freckled with blackish and
cinereous; under wing coverts with black and fulvous cross bands;
wings blackish, outer webs spotted with fulvous; bill horn-colour,
lower mandible and feet yellowish: whole length 12·0 inches, wing
6·8, tail 2·6.

_Hab._ Northern Argentina.

This fine and distinct species was first obtained by Dr. Burmeister in Cordova and in Tucuman, where Durnford also obtained specimens of it during his last journey. It is larger than _N. pentlandi_, and has the breast thickly covered by somewhat rounded light spots upon a cinereous ground; these are mixed with black points and slight striations.

430. NOTHURA MACULOSA (Temm.)

(SPOTTED TINAMOU.)

+Nothura maculosa+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, p. 499; _Scl. et Salv.
Nomencl._ p. 153; _iid. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 143 (Buenos Ayres);
_Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 547 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_,
1877, p. 203 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 168 (Buenos
Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 629 (Misiones); _Barrows,
Auk_, 1884, p. 317 (Entrerios, Bahia Blanca); _Withington, Ibis_,
1888, p. 473 (Lomas de Zamora). +Nothura major+, _Darwin, Zool.
'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 119.

_Description._--Above pale yellowish brown, barred with black and
brown and streaked with fulvous white; wing-feathers ashy black,
crossed on both webs by fulvous bands: beneath rich yellowish brown;
throat white; breast and flanks spotted and banded with brownish
black; bill and feet yellowish brown: whole length 11·0 inches, wing
5·5, tail 1·6. _Female_ similar, but larger.

_Hab._ Argentine Republic.

The _Perdiz comun_ or Common Partridge of the pampas, as it is always called--the naturalist's name of Tinamou being utterly unknown in the southern part of South America--is much smaller than the "Perdiz grande," but in its form, slender curved beak, bare legs, and in the yellowish mottled plumage generally resembles it. It also inhabits the same kind of open grassy country, and is abundant everywhere on the pampas and as far south as the valley of the Rio Negro in Patagonia. It is solitary; but a number of individuals are usually found in proximity; and in lonely places on the pampas, where they are excessively abundant, I have seen three or four meet together and play in the manner of kittens, darting out from a place of concealment at each other, the pursued bird always escaping by turning off at right angles or by suddenly crouching down and allowing the pursuer to spring over it.

It is very tame in disposition, and flies so reluctantly that it is not necessary to shoot them where they are very abundant, as any number can be killed with a long whip or stick. It moves on the ground in a leisurely manner, uttering as it walks or runs a succession of low whistling notes. It has two distinct songs or calls, pleasing to the ear and heard all the year round; but with greater frequency in spring, and, where the birds are scarce and much persecuted, in spring only. One is a succession of twenty or thirty short impressive whistling notes of great compass, followed by half a dozen rapidly uttered notes, beginning loud and sinking lower till they cease: the other call is a soft continuous trill, which appears to swell mysteriously on the air, for the listener cannot tell whence it proceeds; it lasts several seconds, and then seems to die away in the distance.

It is an exceedingly rare thing to see this bird rise except when compelled. I believe the power of flight is used chiefly, if not exclusively, as a means of escape from danger. The bird rises up when almost trodden upon, rushing into the air with a noise and violence that fill one with astonishment. It continues to rise at a decreasing angle for fifty or sixty yards, then gradually nears the earth, till, when it has got to a distance of two or three hundred yards, the violent action of the wing ceases, and the bird glides along close to the earth for some distance, and either drops down or renews its flight. I suppose many birds fly in much the same way; only this Tinamou starts forward with such amazing energy that, until this is expended and the moment of gliding comes, the flight is just as ungovernable to the bird as the motion of a brakeless engine, rushing along at full speed, would be to the driver. The bird knows the danger to which this peculiar character of its flight exposes it so well, that it is careful to fly only to that side where it sees a clear course. It is sometimes, however, compelled to take wing suddenly, without considering the obstacles in its path; it also often miscalculates the height of an obstacle, so that for Tinamous to meet with accidents when flying is very common. In the course of a short ride of two miles, during which several birds sprang up before me, I have seen three of these Tinamous dash themselves to death against a fence close to the path, the height of which they had evidently misjudged. I have also seen a bird fly blindly against the wall of a house, killing itself instantly. A brother of mine told me of a very curious thing he once witnessed. He was galloping over the pampas, with a very violent wind blowing in his face, when a Tinamou started up before his horse. The bird flew up into the air vertically, and, beating its wings violently, and with a swiftness far exceeding that of its ordinary flight, continued to ascend until it reached a vast height, then came down again, whirling round and round, striking the earth a very few yards from the spot where it rose, and crushing itself to a pulp with the tremendous force of the fall. It is very easy to guess the cause of such an accident: while the Tinamou struggled blindly to go forward, the violent wind, catching the under surface of the wings, forced it upwards, until the poor bird, becoming hopelessly confused, fell back to earth. I have often seen a swallow, gull, or hawk, soaring about in a high wind, suddenly turn the under surface of its wings to the wind and instantly shoot straight up, apparently without an effort, to a vast height, then recover itself, and start off in a fresh direction. The Tinamou, when once launched on the atmosphere, is at the mercy of chance; nevertheless, had this incident been related to me by a stranger, I should not have recorded it.

This Tinamou is frequently run down and caught by well-mounted Gaucho boys; the bird frequently escapes into a kennel in the earth, but when it sees no refuge before it and is hotly pursued, it sometimes drops dead. When caught in the hand they "feign death" or swoon, but on being released quickly recover their faculties.

The nest is a slight hollow scratched in the ground under a thistle or in the grass, and lined with a few dry leaves. The number of eggs laid varies from five to eight. These are elliptical, with polished shells, and as a rule are of a wine-purple colour; but the hue varies somewhat, some eggs having a reddish tinge and others a deep liver-colour.

431. NOTHURA DARWINI, Gray.

(DARWIN'S TINAMOU.)

[Plate XX.]

+Nothura minor+, _Darwin, Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 119 (Bahia
Blanca). +Nothura darwini+, _Gray, List of Gall. B. M._ p. 104
(1867); _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872. p. 547. +Nothura maculosa+,
_Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 45 (Chupat). +Nothura perdicaria+,
_Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 405 (Centr. Patagonia).

_Description._--Above cinereous; feathers of head and back marked
with narrow black and fulvous cross bands and margined with bright
ashy-white edgings; wings ashy black, crossed on both webs by
fulvous bands, except in the two outer primaries: beneath pale
fulvous, throat white; breast more cinereous, and densely covered
with indistinct black and brown cross bars and whitish-grey streaks;
flanks and lower belly with irregular black cross bars; bill
horn-colour; lower mandible and feet yellowish: whole length 8·5
inches, wing 5·4, tail 2·4.

_Hab._ Northern Patagonia.

This species, called _Perdiz chico_ by the natives, is somewhat smaller and paler in colouring than the common Tinamou of the pampas, but very closely resembles the young of that species. It inhabits Patagonia, and is nowhere very numerous, but appears to be thinly and equally distributed on the dry sterile plains of that region, preferring places abounding in thin scrub. In disposition it is extremely shy, and when approached springs up at a distance ahead and runs away with the greatest speed and apparently much terrified. Sometimes when thus running it utters short whistled notes like the allied species. It rises more readily and with less noise than the pampas bird, and has a much higher flight. It has one call-note, heard only in the love-season--a succession of short whistling notes, like those of the _N. maculosa_, but without the rapidly uttered conclusion.

The nest is made under a small scrubby bush, and contains from five to seven eggs, in form and colour like those of _N. maculosa_, except that the reddish-purple tint is paler.

The figure (Plate XX.) is taken from one of my specimens from the Rio Negro, now in the British Museum.

432. CALODROMAS ELEGANS (d'Orb. et Geoff.).

(MARTINETA TINAMOU.)

+Eudromia elegans+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 408 (San Luis,
Mendoza); _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 545 (Rio Negro). +Calodromas
elegans+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 153; _Durnford, Ibis_,
1877, p. 45 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 406 (Centr. Patagonia);
_Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 318 (Bahia Blanca).

_Description._--Above densely banded and spotted with black and pale
fulvous; head cinereous, with black striations; a long recurved
vertical crest of black feathers, partly edged with cinereous; two
lateral stripes on the head above and beneath the eye and throat
cinnamomeous white: beneath pale cinnamomeous, breast with numerous
black cross bars and black shaft-spots; belly, flanks, and under
tail-coverts with broad black cross bands; wings ashy black, with
numerous cross bands of pale cinnamomeous; bill blackish; feet
bluish grey: whole length 14·5 inches, wing 8·3, tail 3·0. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ Northern Patagonia and Western Argentina.

This fine game bird in its size and mottled plumage resembles the _Rhynchotus rufescens_ of the pampas, which it represents in the Patagonian district south of the Rio Colorado. It differs externally in the more earthy hue of its plumage, which is protective and harmonizes admirably with the colour of its sterile surroundings; also in having a shorter beak, and in being adorned with a long slender black crest, which, when excited, the bird carries directed forwards like a horn. There is, however, an anatomical difference, which seems to show that the two species are not very near relations. The structure of the intestinal canal in the Martineta is most peculiar, and unlike that of any other bird I have ever dissected: the canal divides near the stomach into a pair of great ducts which widen towards the middle and extend almost the entire length of the abdominal cavity, and are thickly set with rows of large membranous claw-shaped protuberances.

The Martineta inhabits the elevated tablelands, and is found chiefly where patches of scattered dwarf scrub occur among the thorny thickets. Apparently they do not require water, as they are met with in the driest situations where water never collects. They are extremely fond of dusting themselves, and form circular, nest-like hollows in the ground for that purpose; these hollows are deep and neatly made, and are visited every day by the same birds throughout the year. They live in coveys of from half a dozen to twenty or thirty birds, and when disturbed do not as a rule take to flight at once, but jump up one after another and run away with amazing swiftness, uttering as they run shrill, squealing cries, as if in the greatest terror. Their flight, although violent, is not so sounding as that of the Pampas Tinamou (_Rhynchotus_), and differs remarkably in another respect. Every twenty or thirty yards the wings cease beating and remain motionless for a second, when the bird renews the effort; thus the flight is a series of rushes rather than a continuous rush like that of the _Rhynchotus_. It is also accompanied with a soft wailing note, which appears to die away and swell again as the flapping of the wings is renewed.

The call-note of the Martineta is never heard in winter; but in the month of September they begin to utter in the evening a long, plaintive, slightly modulated whistle, the birds sitting concealed and answering each other from bush to bush. As the season advances the coveys break up, and their call is then heard on every side, and often all day long, from dawn until after dark. The call varies greatly in different birds, from a single whistle to a performance of five or six notes, resembling that of _Rhynchotus_, but inferior in compass and sweetness. They begin to breed in October, making the nest in the midst of a small isolated bush. The eggs vary in number from twelve to sixteen; they are elliptical in form, of a beautiful deep green in colour, and have highly polished shells.

It is probable, I think, that this species possesses some curious procreant habits, and that more than one female lays in each nest; but owing to the excessive wariness of the bird in a state of nature it is next to impossible to find out anything about it. No doubt the day will come when naturalists will find the advantage of domesticating the birds the life-histories of which they wish to learn: may it come before all the most interesting species on the globe are extinct!

Order XX. STRUTHIONES.

Fam. LIV. RHEIDÆ, or RHEAS.

The Order of Struthious Birds or Ostriches is represented in South America by the Nandu or Rhea, which is at once distinguished from the African Ostrich (_Struthio_) by having three toes instead of two, as also by many other important points of structure.

Both the known species of _Rhea_ are found within our limits.

433. RHEA AMERICANA, Lath.

(COMMON RHEA.)

+Rhea americana+, _Darwin, Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 120; _Burm.
La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 500; _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 154;
_Sclater, Trans. Zool. Soc._ iv. p. 355, pl. lxviii.; _Gadow, P.
Z. S._ 1885, p. 308.

_Description._--Above, head blackish; neck whitish, becoming black
at the base of the neck and between the shoulders; rest slaty grey:
beneath, throat and upper neck whitish, becoming black at the base
of the neck, whence arise two black lateral crescents, one on either
side of the upper breast; rest of under surface whitish; front of
tarsus throughout covered with broad transverse scutes: whole length
about 52·0 inches, tarsus 12·0; tarsus bare.

_Hab._ Pampas of S. America north of Rio Negro.

The Common Rhea (called "_Ñandú_" in the Guarani language, "_Chueké_" by the pampas Indians, and "Ostrich" by Europeans) is found throughout the Argentine Republic down to the Rio Negro in Patagonia, and, in decreasing numbers, and associating with Darwin's Rhea, to a considerable distance south of that river. Until within very recent times it was very abundant on the pampas, and I can remember the time when it was common within forty miles of Buenos Ayres city. But it is now becoming rare, and those who wish to have a hand in its extermination must go to a distance of three or four hundred miles from the Argentine capital before they can get a sight of it.

The Rhea is peculiarly well adapted, in its size, colour, faculties, and habits, to the conditions of the level woodless country it inhabits; its lofty stature, which greatly exceeded that of any of its enemies before the appearance of the European mounted hunter, enables it to see far; its dim grey plumage, the colour of the haze, made it almost invisible to the eye at a distance, the long neck being so slender and the bulky body so nearly on a level with the tall grasses; while its speed exceeded that of all other animals inhabiting the same country. When watching the chase of Ostriches in the desert pampas, abounding in giant grasses, it struck me forcibly that this manner of hunting the bird on horseback had brought to light a fault in the Rhea--a point in which the correspondence between the animal and its environment is not perfect. The Rhea runs smoothly on the surface, and where the tall grass-tussocks are bound together, as is often the case, with slender twining plants, its legs occasionally get entangled, and the bird falls prostrate, and before it can struggle up again the hunter is close at hand and able to throw the _bolas_--the thong and balls, which, striking the bird with great force, wind about its neck, wings, and legs, and prevent its escape. When I questioned Ostrich-hunters as to this point they said that it was true that the Rhea often falls when running hotly pursued through long grass, and that the deer (_Cervus campestris_) never falls because it leaps over the large tussocks and all such obstructions. This small infirmity of the Rhea would not, however, have told very much against it if some moderation had been observed in hunting it, or if the Argentine Government had thought fit to protect it; but in La Plata, as in North America and South Africa, the licence to kill, which every one possesses, has been exercised with such zeal and fury that in a very few more years this noblest Avian type of the great bird-continent will be as unknown on the earth as the Moa and the _Æpyornis_.

The Rhea lives in bands of from three or four to twenty or thirty individuals. Where they are not persecuted they show no fear of man, and come about the houses, and are as familiar and tame as domestic animals. Sometimes they become too familiar. At one _estancia_ I remember an old cock-bird that constantly came alone to feed near the gate, and that had so great an animosity against the human figure in petticoats, that the women of the house could not go out on foot or horseback without a man to defend them from its attacks. When the young are taken from the parent bird they become, as Azara truly says, "domestic from the first day," and will follow their owner about like a dog. It is this natural tameness, together with the majesty and quaint grace of its antique form, which makes the destruction of the Rhea so painful to think of.

When persecuted, Rheas soon acquire a wary habit, and escape by running almost before the enemy has caught a sight of them; or else crouch down to conceal themselves in the long grass; and it then becomes difficult to find them, as they lie close, and will not rise until almost trodden on. Their speed and endurance are so great that, with a fair start, it is almost impossible for the hunter to overtake them, however well mounted. When running, the wings hang down like those of a wounded bird, but usually one wing is raised and held up like a great sail, for what reason it is impossible to say. When hard pressed, the Rhea doubles frequently and rapidly at right angles to its course; and if the pursuer's horse is not well trained to follow the bird in all its sudden turns without losing ground he is quickly left far behind.