The CHOROY of the Chilians (_Enicognathis leptorhynchus_) is well
deserving of notice, on account of the peculiar shape of its beak. There
is nothing particularly striking in the plumage, which is of a nearly
uniform dark green, blueish on the wings, their tips being spotted with
black; the tail-feathers are brownish, and blood red at the tip. The bird
is green above, with a red streak upon the brow, red cheek-stripes, and
a few insignificant dark bands on the top of the head, which are visible
through the points of the corresponding feathers; the lower part of the
body is green, with red spots between the thighs, larger in the male
than in the female. Its length is about fourteen inches, six and a half
of which belong to the tail. The Choroy reminds us of the Long-beaked
Cockatoo, on account of its prominent and elongated upper mandible, and
we are told that its habits are similar. These birds congregate in troops
of many hundreds, and the noise they make is almost deafening. They are
most destructive to maize and wheat fields, and also to apple-trees, the
fruit of which they gather only for the sake of the pips. This species is
found over large tracts of the Pampas, and is rather a ground than a tree
bird.
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