(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.