THE
ZOOLOGY
OF
THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. BEAGLE,
UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN FITZROY, R.N.,
DURING THE YEARS
1832 TO 1836.
_PUBLISHED WITH THE APPROVAL OF
THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF HER MAJESTY’S TREASURY._
=Edited and Superintended by=
CHARLES DARWIN, ESQ. M.A. F.R.S. SEC. G.S.
NATURALIST TO THE EXPEDITION.
PART III.
BIRDS,
BY
JOHN GOULD, ESQ. F.L.S.
LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 65, CORNHILL.
MDCCCXLI.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY STEWART AND MURRAY
OLD BAILEY.
BIRDS,
=Described by=
JOHN GOULD, ESQ. F.L.S.
WITH
A NOTICE OF THEIR HABITS AND RANGES,
BY CHARLES DARWIN, ESQ. M.A. F.R.S. SEC. GEOLOG. SOC.
AND WITH AN ANATOMICAL APPENDIX,
BY T. C. EYTON, ESQ, F.L.S.
ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.
CORRIGENDA.
I am indebted to Mr. G. R. Gray for the following remarks and
corrections:—
Page 13, to Milvago ocrocephalus, _Spix._ add
Polyborus ocrocephalus, _Jard. & Selby’s III._ t. 5.
Alter 7, 8, 9, & 10, to 5, 6, 7, & 8.
Page 15, Milvago leucurus, add
Falco Australis, _Jard. & Selby’s III. Orn._ n. s. pl. 24.
Page 49, Serpophaga, _Gould_, is probably synonymous with
Euscarthmus, _Pr. Max._
Page 56, Agriornis, _Gould_, is synonymous with Dasycephala of
Swainson, and Tamnolanius, of Lesson; the species
therefore should be
sp. 1. D. lividus, _G. R. Gray_.
Thamnophilus lividus, _Kittl. Voy. de Chili_, pl. 1.
Tyrannus gutturalis, _Eyd. & Gerv. &c._
sp. 2. D. striata, _G. R. Gray_.
Agr. striatus, _Gould_.
Agr. micropterus, juv. _Gould_, sp. 3.
Page 57, sp. 4. D. maritima, _G. R. Gray_.
Agr. maritimus, _G. R. Gray, &c._
Page 66, The generic appellation of Opetiorhynchus, was adopted after
the subjection of Mr. Gould; since its publication,
however, I have considered that it might cause confusion
with Furnarius, of Vieillot, as it is Temminck’s name for
the identical same division, therefore only a synonym, and
am on that ground induced to change and propose the name
of Cinclodes, which has been adopted by a Continental
writer. The species should be altered thus:—
Page 66, Sp. 1. Cinclodes vulgaris, _G. R. Gray_.
Page 67, sp. 2. C. Patagonicus, _G. R. Gray, List of the Genera of
Birds_.
sp. 3. C. antarcticus, _G. R. Gray_.
Cinclodes fuliginosus, _Less._
Page 68, sp. 4. C. nigrofumosus, _G. R. Gray_.
Page 69, Eremobius, being previously employed, it is changed to
Enicornis, _G. R. Gray_. The species to
En. phœnicurus, _G. R. Gray, List of the Genera of Birds_.
Page 70, Rhinomya, being also previously employed; it is therefore
changed to Rhinocrypta, _G. R. Gray_. The species to
R. lanceolata, _G. R. Gray_.
Page 76, for Synallaxis major, _Gould_, read Anumbius acuticaudatus,
_G. R. Gray_.
Furnarius annumbi, _Vieill._
L’Anumbi, _Azara_, No. 222.
Anthus acuticaudatus, _Less._
Anumbius anthoides, _D’Orb. & Lafr._
Page 94, Fringilla fruticeti, _Kittl._ gives place to
Fringilla erythrorhyncha, _Less. Voy. Thetis_, ii. p. 324.
LIST OF PLATES.
Plate I. Milvago albogularis.
II. Craxirex Galapagoensis.
III. Otus Galapagoensis.
IV. Strix punctatissima.
V. Progne modestus.
VI. Pyrocephalus parvirostris.
VII. —— nanus.
VIII. Tyrannula magnirostris.
IX. Lichenops erythropterus.
X. Fluvicola Azaræ.
XI. { Xolmis variegata, _in place of_
{ Tænioptera variegata.
XII. Agriornis micropterus.
XIII. —— leucurus.
XIV. Pachyramphus albescens.
XV. —— minimus.
XVI. Mimus trifasciatus.
XVII. —— melanotis.
XVIII. —— parvulus.
XIX. { Uppucerthia dumetoria, _in place of_
{ Upercerthia dumetaria.
XX. { Opetiorhynchus nigrofumosus, _in place of_
{ Opetiorhynchus lanceolatus.
XXI. Eremobius phœnicurus.
XXII. { Anumbius acuticaudatus, _in place of_
{ Synallaxis major.
XXIII. Synallaxis rufogularis.
XXIV. —— flavogularis.
XXV. Limnornis curvirostris.
XXVI. —— rectirostris.
XXVII. Dendrodamus leucosternus.
XXVIII. Sylvicola aureola.
XXIX. Ammodramus longicaudatus.
XXX. { Ammodramus Manimbè, _in place of_
{ Ammodramus xanthornus.
XXXI. Passer Jagoensis.
XXXII. Chlorospiza melanodera.
XXXIII. —— xanthogramma.
XXXIV. { Aglaia striata, _in place of_
{ Tanagra Darwinii.
XXXV. Pipilo personata.
XXXVI. Geospiza magnirostris.
XXXVII. —— strenua.
XXXVIII. —— fortis.
XXXIX. —— parvula.
XL. Camarhynchus psittaculus.
XLI. —— crassirostris.
XLII. Cactornis scandens.
XLIII. —— assimilis.
XLIV. Certhidea olivacea.
XLV. Xanthornus flaviceps.
XLVI. Zenaida Galapagoensis.
XLVII. Rhea Darwinii.
XLVIII. Zapornia notata.
XLIX. —— spilonota.
L. Anser melanopterus.
ADVERTISEMENT.
When I presented my collection of Birds to the Zoological Society, Mr.
Gould kindly undertook to furnish me with descriptions of the new
species and names of those already known. This he has performed, but
owing to the hurry, consequent on his departure for Australia,—an
expedition from which the science of Ornithology will derive such great
advantages,—he was compelled to leave some part of his manuscript so far
incomplete, that without the possibility of personal communication with
him, I was left in doubt on some essential points. Mr. George Robert
Gray, the ornithological assistant in the Zoological department of the
British Museum, has in the most obliging manner undertaken to obviate
this difficulty, by furnishing me with information with respect to some
parts of the general arrangement, and likewise on that most intricate
subject,—the knowledge of what species have already been described, and
the use of proper generic terms. I shall endeavour in every part of the
text to refer to Mr. G. R. Gray’s assistance, where I have used it. As
some of Mr. Gould’s descriptions appeared to me brief, I have enlarged
them, but have always endeavoured to retain his specific character; so
that, by this means, I trust I shall not throw any obscurity on what he
considers the essential character in each case; but at the same time, I
hope, that these additional remarks may render the work more complete.
The accompanying illustrations, which are fifty in number, were taken
from sketches made by Mr. Gould himself, and executed on stone by Mrs.
Gould, with that admirable success, which has attended all her works.
They are all of the natural size with the exception of four raptorial
birds, a goose and a species of Rhea. As the dimensions of these latter
birds are given, their proportional reduction will readily be seen. I
had originally intended to have added the initial letter of my name to
the account of the habits and ranges, and that of Mr. Gould’s to the
description of the genera and species; but as it may be known that he is
responsible for the latter, and myself for the former, this appeared to
me useless; and I have, therefore, thought it better to incorporate all
general remarks in my own name, stating on every occasion my authority,
so that wherever the personal pronoun is used it refers to myself.
Finally, I must remark, that after the excellent dissertation, now in
the course of publication, on the habits and distribution of the birds
of South America by M. Alcide D’Orbigny, in which he has combined his
own extended observations with those of Azara, my endeavour to add
anything to our information on this subject, may at first be thought
superfluous. But as during the Beagle’s voyage, I visited some portions
of America south of the range of M. D’Orbigny’s travels, I shall relate
in order the few facts, which I have been enabled to collect together;
and these, if not new, may at least tend to confirm former accounts. I
have, however, thought myself obliged to omit some parts, which
otherwise I should have given; and, after having read the published
portion of M. D’Orbigny’s great work, I have corrected some errors, into
which I had fallen. I have not, however, altered any thing simply
because it differs from what that gentleman may have written; but only
where I have been convinced that my means of observation were inferior
to his.
BIRDS.
FAMILY—VULTURIDÆ.
SARCORAMPHUS GRYPHUS. _Bonap._
Vultur gryphus, _Linn._
—— ——, _Humb._ Zoolog. p. 31.
Sarcoramphus Condor, _D’Orbigny_. Voy. Ois.
Condor of the inhabitants of South America.
The Condor is known to have a wide range, being found on the west coast
of South America, from the Strait of Magellan, throughout the range of
the Cordillera, as far, according to M. D’Orbigny, as 8° north latitude.
On the Patagonian shore, the steep cliff near the mouth of the Rio
Negro, in latitude 41°, was the most northern point where I ever saw
these birds, or heard of their existence; and they have there wandered
about four hundred miles from the great central line of their habitation
in the Andes. Further south, among the bold precipices which form the
head of Port Desire, they are not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers
occasionally visit the sea-coast. A line of cliff near the mouth of the
Santa Cruz is frequented by these birds, and about eighty miles up the
river, where the sides of the valley were formed by steep basaltic
precipices, the Condor again appeared, although in the intermediate
space not one had been seen. From these and similar facts, I believe
that the presence of this bird is chiefly determined by the occurrence
of perpendicular cliffs. In Patagonia the Condors, either by pairs or
many together, both sleep and breed on the same overhanging ledges. In
Chile, however, during the greater part of the year, they haunt the
lower country, near the shores of the Pacific, and at night several
roost in one tree; but in the early part of summer they retire to the
most inaccessible parts of the inner Cordillera, there to breed in
peace.
With respect to their propagation, I was told by the country people in
Chile, that the Condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months of
November and December, lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare
rock. Certainly, on the Patagonian coast, I could not see any sort of
nest among the cliffs, where the young ones were standing. I was told
that the young Condors could not fly for a whole year, but this probably
was a mistake, since M. D’Orbigny says they take to the wing in about a
month and a half after being hatched. On the fifth of March
(corresponding to our September), I saw a young bird at Concepcion,
which, though in size only little inferior to a full-grown one, was
completely covered by down, like that of a gosling, but of a blackish
colour. I can, however, scarcely believe that this bird could have used,
for some months subsequently, its wings for flight. After the period
when the young Condor can fly, apparently as well as the old birds, they
yet remain (as I observed in Patagonia) both roosting at night on the
same ledge, and hunting by day with their parents: but before the young
bird has the ruff round its neck white, it may often be seen hunting by
itself. At the mouth of the Santa Cruz, during part of April and May, a
pair of old birds might be seen every day, either perched on a certain
ledge, or sailing about in company with a single young one, which
latter, though full fledged, had not its ruff white.
The Condors generally live by pairs; but among the basaltic cliffs of
the plains, high up the river Santa Cruz, I found a spot where scores
must usually haunt. They were not shy; and on coming suddenly to the
brow of the precipice, it was a fine sight to see between twenty and
thirty of these great[1] birds start heavily from their resting place,
and wheel away in majestic circles. From the large quantity of dung on
the rocks, they must have long frequented this cliff; and probably they
both roost and breed there. Having gorged themselves with carrion on the
plains below, they retire to these favourite ledges to digest their food
in quietness. From these facts, the Condor must, to a certain degree be
considered, like the Gallinazo (_Cathartes atratus_), a gregarious bird.
In this part of the country they live almost entirely on the guanacoes,
which either have died a natural death, or, as more commonly happens,
have been killed by the pumas. I believe, from what I saw in Patagonia,
that they do not, on ordinary occasions, extend their daily excursions
to any great distance from their regular sleeping places.
The condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring over a
certain spot in the most graceful spires and circles. On some occasions
I am sure that they do this for their sport; but on others, the Chileno
countryman tells you, that they are watching a dying animal, or the puma
devouring its prey. If the condors glide down, and then suddenly all
rise together, the Chileno knows that it is the puma, which, watching
the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the robbers. Besides feeding
on carrion, the condors frequently attack young goats and lambs. Hence
the shepherds train their dogs, the moment the enemy passes over, to run
out, and looking upwards, to bark violently. The Chilenos destroy and
catch numbers; two methods are used: one is to place a carcass within an
enclosure of sticks on a level piece of ground, and when the condors
have gorged themselves to gallop up on horseback to the entrance, and
thus enclose them: for when this bird has not space to run, it cannot
give its body sufficient momentum to rise from the ground. The second
method is to mark the trees in which, frequently to the number of five
or six, they roost together, and then at night to climb up and noose
them; they are such heavy sleepers, as I have myself witnessed, that
this is not a difficult task. At Valparaiso I have seen a living condor
sold for sixpence, but the common price is eight or ten shillings. One
which I saw brought in for sale, had been lashed with a rope, and was
much injured; but the moment the line was cut by which its bill was
secured, it began, although surrounded by people, ravenously to tear a
piece of carrion. In a garden at the same place, between twenty and
thirty of these birds were kept alive; they were fed only once a week,
yet they appeared to be in pretty good health.[2] The Chileno countrymen
assert, that the condor will live and retain its powers between five and
six weeks without eating: I cannot answer for the truth of this fact,
but it is a cruel experiment, which very likely has been tried.
When an animal is killed in this country, it is well known that the
condors, like other carrion vultures, gain the intelligence and
congregate in a manner which often appears inexplicable. In most cases,
it must not be overlooked, that the birds have discovered their prey,
and have picked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in the least
degree tainted. Remembering the opinion of M. Audubon on the deficient
smelling powers of such birds,[3] I tried in the above mentioned garden,
the following experiment. The condors were tied, each by a rope, in a
long row at the bottom of a wall. Having folded a piece of meat in white
paper, I walked backwards and forwards, carrying it in my hand at the
distance of about three yards from them; but no notice whatever was
taken of it. I then threw it on the ground within one yard of an old
cock bird; he looked at it for a moment with attention, but then
regarded it no more. With a stick I pushed it closer and closer, until
at last he touched it with his beak: the paper was then instantly torn
off with fury, and at the same moment every bird in the long row began
struggling and flapping its wings. Under the same circumstances, it
would have been quite impossible to have deceived a dog.
When the condors in a flock are wheeling round and round any spot, their
flight is beautiful. Except when they rise from the ground, I do not
recollect ever to have seen one flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched
several of these birds for a quarter and half an hour, without once
taking off my eyes. They moved in large curves, sweeping in circles,
descending and ascending without once flapping. As several glided close
over my head, I intently watched, from an oblique position, the separate
and terminal feathers of the wing; if there had been the least vibratory
movement, their outlines would have been blended together, but they were
seen distinct against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved
frequently, and apparently with force. If the bird wished to descend,
the wings were for a moment collapsed; and then, when again expanded
with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent,
seemed to urge the bird upwards, with the even and steady movement of a
paper kite. It was a beautiful spectacle thus to behold these great
vultures hour after hour, without any apparent exertion, wheeling and
gliding over mountain and river.
In the garden at Valparaiso, where so many condors were kept alive, I
observed that all the hens had the iris of their eyes bright red, but
the cocks yellowish brown. In a young bird, whose back was brown, and
ruff not white, (but which must have been at least nearly a year old, as
it was then the spring) I observed that the eye was dark brown: upon
examination after death, this proved to be a female, and therefore I
suppose the colour of the iris changes at the same time with the
plumage.
1. CATHARTES ATRATUS. _Rich. and Swain._
Cathartes urubu, _D’Orbigny._ Voy. Ois.
Vultur atratus, _Bartram_, p. 287.
—— jota, _Jardine’s_ Wilson, vol. iii. p. 236.
——, _Bonaparte’s_ List, p. 1.
Gallinazo or Cuervo of the Spanish inhabitants of America; and Black
Vulture or Carrion Crow of the English of that continent.
These birds, I believe, are never found further south, than the
neighbourhood of the Rio Negro, in latitude 41°: I never saw one in
southern Patagonia, or in Tierra del Fuego. They appear to prefer damp
places, especially the vicinity of rivers; and thus, although abundant
both at the Rio Negro and Colorado, they are not found on the
intermediate plains. Azara[4] states, that there existed a tradition in
his time, that on the first arrival of the Spaniards in the Plata, these
birds were not found in the neighbourhood of Monte Video, but that they
subsequently followed the inhabitants from more northern districts. M.
Al. D’Orbigny, in reference to this statement, observes that these
vultures, although common on the northern bank of the Plata, and
likewise on the rivers south of it, are not found in the neighbourhood
of Buenos Ayres, where the immense slaughtering establishments are
attended by infinite numbers of Polybori and gulls. M. D’Orbigny
supposes that their absence is owing to the scarcity of trees and bushes
in the Pampas; but this view, I think, will hardly hold good, inasmuch
as the country near Bahia Blanca, where the Gallinazo (together with the
carrion-feeding gull) is common, is as bare, if not more so, than the
plains near Buenos Ayres. I have never seen the Gallinazo in Chile; and
Molina, who was aware of the difference between the _C. atratus_ and _C.
aura_, has not noticed it; yet, on the opposite side of the Cordillera,
near Mendoza, it is common. They do not occur in Chiloe, or on the west
coast of the continent south of that island. In Wilson’s Ornithology it
is said that “the carrion crow (as this bird is called in the United
States) is seldom found on the Atlantic to the northward of Newbern,
lat. 35° North Carolina.” But in Richardson’s “Fauna Boreali-Americana,”
it is mentioned, on the authority of Mr. David Douglas, that on the
Pacific side of the continent, it is common on the marshy islands of the
Columbia, and in the neighbourhood of Lewis’s and Clark’s rivers
(45°–47° N.) It has, therefore, a wider range in the northern than in
the southern half of the continent. These vultures certainly are
gregarious; for they seem to have pleasure in each other’s society, and
are not solely brought together by the attraction of a common prey. On a
fine day, a flock may often be seen at a great height; each bird
wheeling round and round in the most graceful evolutions. This is
evidently done for their sport; or, perhaps, is connected (for a similar
habit may sometimes be observed during the breeding season amongst our
common rooks) with their matrimonial alliances.
2. CATHARTES AURA. _Illi._
Vultur aura, _Linn._
——, _Jardine’s Wilson_, vol. iii. p. 226.
Vultur jota, _Molina_, Compendio de la Hist. del Reyno de Chile, vol i.
p. 296.
Turkey buzzard and Carrion Crow of the English in America.
This bird has a wide geographical range, being found from 55° S. to Nova
Scotia (according to Wilson, in Jardine’s edition, vol. iii. p. 231,) in
45° N.; or exactly one hundred degrees of latitude. Its lesser range in
Northern than in Southern America is probably due to the more excessive
nature of the climate in the former hemisphere. It is said to be partly
migratory during winter, in the Northern and even in the Middle States,
and likewise on the shores of the Pacific. The _C. aura_ is found in the
extreme parts of Tierra del Fuego, and on the indented coast, covered
with thick forests, of West Patagonia, (but not on the arid plains of
Eastern Patagonia,) in Chile, where it is called Jote, in Peru, in the
West Indies; and, according to Wilson, it remains even during winter, in
New Jersey and Delaware, latitude 40°. It and one of the family of
Polyborinæ are the only two carrion-feeding hawks, which have found
their way to the Falkland Islands. The Turkey buzzard, as it is
generally called by the English, may be recognized at a great distance
from its lofty, soaring and most graceful flight. It is generally
solitary, or, at most, sweeps over the country in pairs. In Tierra del
Fuego, and on the west coast of Patagonia, it must live exclusively on
what the sea throws up, and on dead seals: wherever these animals in
herds were sleeping on the beach, there this vulture might be seen,
patiently standing on some neighbouring rock. At the Falkland Islands it
was tolerably common; but sometimes there would not be a single one near
the settlement for several days together, and then many would suddenly
appear. They were usually shy; a disposition which is remarkable, as
being different from that of almost every other bird in this
Archipelago. May we infer from this that they are migratory, like those
of the northern hemisphere? In a female specimen killed there, the skin
of the head was intermediate in colour between “scarlet and cochineal
red,”[5] and the iris dark coloured. D’Orbigny describes the iris as
being bright scarlet; whilst Azara says it is “jaune léger. Is this
difference owing to the sex and age, as certainly is the case with the
condors? As a considerable degree of confusion has prevailed in the
synonyms of this and the foregoing species, caused apparently by a doubt
to which of them Molina applied the name of _Jote_, I would wish to call
attention to the fact, that at the present time the _C. aura_ in Chile
goes by the name of _Jote_. Moreover, I think Molina’s description by
itself might have decided the question; he says, the head of the _Vultur
jota_ is naked, and covered only with a wrinkled and _reddish_ (roxiza)
skin.
FAMILY—FALCONIDÆ.
SUB-FAM. POLYBORINÆ, _Swains._
(Caracaridæ, D’Orbigny.)
POLYBORUS BRASILIENSIS. _Swains._
Polyborus vulgaris, _Vieillot_.
Falco Brasiliensis Auctorum; Caracara of Azara; Tharu of Molina; and
Carrancha of the inhabitants of La Plata.
This is one of the commonest birds in South America, and has a wide
geographical range. It is found in Mexico and in the West Indies. It is
also, according to M. Audubon, an occasional visitant to the Floridas;
it takes its name from Brazil, but is no where so common as on the
grassy savannahs of La Plata. It generally follows man, but is sometimes
found even on the most desert plains of Patagonia: in the northern part
of that region, numbers constantly attended the line of road between the
Rio Negro and the Colorado, to devour the carcasses of the animals which
chanced to perish from fatigue. Although abundant on the open plains of
this eastern portion of the continent, and likewise on the rocky and
barren shores of the Pacific, nevertheless it inhabits the borders of
the damp and impervious forests of Tierra del Fuego and of the broken
coast of West Patagonia, even as far south as Cape Horn. The Carranchas
(as the _Polyborus Brasiliensis_ is called in La Plata) together with
the _P. chimango_[6], attend in great numbers the estancias and
slaughtering houses in the neighbourhood of the Plata. If an animal dies
in the plain, the _Cathartes atratus_ or Gallinazo commences the feast,
and then these two carrion-feeding hawks pick the bones clean. Although
belonging to closely allied genera, and thus commonly feeding together,
they are far from being friends. When the Carrancha is quietly seated on
the branch of a tree, or on the ground, the Chimango often continues
flying backwards and forwards for a long time, up and down in a
semicircle, trying each time, at the bottom of the curve, to strike its
larger relative. The Carrancha takes little notice, except by bobbing
its head. Although the Carranchas frequently assemble in numbers, they
are not gregarious; for in desert places they may be seen solitary, or
more commonly by pairs. Besides the carrion of large animals, these
birds frequent the borders of streams and the sea beach, for the sake of
picking up whatever the waters may cast on shore. In Tierra del Fuego,
and on the west coast of Patagonia, they must live almost exclusively on
this last means of supply.
The Carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great numbers of
eggs; they attempt also, together with the Chimango, to pick the scabs
off the sore backs of both horses and mules. On the one hand, the poor
animal, with its ears down and its back arched; and, on the other, the
hovering bird, eyeing at the distance of a yard, the disgusting morsel,
form a picture which has been described by Captain Head with his own
peculiar spirit and accuracy. The Carranchas kill wounded animals; but
Mr. Bynoe (the surgeon of the Beagle) saw one seize in the air a live
partridge, which, however, escaped, and was for some time chased on the
ground. I believe this circumstance is very unusual: at all events there
is no doubt that the chief part of their sustenance is derived from
carrion. A person will discover their _necrophagous_ habits by walking
out on one of the desolate plains, and there lying down to sleep: when
he awakes, he will see on each surrounding hillock, one of these birds
patiently watching him with an evil eye. It is a feature in the
landscape of these countries, which will be recognised by every one who
has wandered over them. If a party goes out hunting with dogs and
horses, it will be accompanied during the day, by several of these
attendants. The uncovered craw of the Carrancha, after feeding,
protrudes from its breast; at such times it is, and indeed generally, an
inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. Its flight is generally heavy and
slow, like that of the English carrion crow, whose place it so well
supplies in America. It seldom soars; but I have twice seen one at a
great height gliding through the air with much ease. It runs (in
contradistinction to hopping), but not quite so quickly as some of its
congeners. At times the Carrancha is noisy, but is not generally so; its
cry is loud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be compared to the sound
of the Spanish guttural _g_, followed by a rough double _r r_. Perhaps
the Spaniards of Buenos Ayres, from this cause, have called it
Carrancha. Molina, who says it is called Tharu in Chile, states, that
when uttering this cry, it elevates its head higher and higher, till at
last, with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches the lower part
of the back. This fact, which has been doubted, is true; for I have
myself several times seen them with their heads backwards, in a
completely inverted position. The Carrancha builds a large coarse nest,
either in a low cliff, or in a bush or lofty tree. To these observations
I may add, on the high authority of Azara, whose statements have lately
been so fully confirmed by M. D’Orbigny, that the Carrancha feeds on
worms, shells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs; that it destroys young
lambs by tearing the umbilical cord: and that it pursues the Gallinazos
and gulls which attend the slaughtering-houses, till these birds are
compelled to vomit up any carrion they may have lately gorged. Lastly,
Azara states that several Carranchas, five or six together, will unite
in chase of large birds, even such as herons. All these facts show that
it is a bird of very versatile habits and considerable ingenuity.
I am led to suppose that the young birds of this species sometimes
congregate together. On the plains of Santa Cruz (lat. 50° S. in
Patagonia), I saw in the month of April, or early autumn, between twenty
and thirty Polybori, which I at first thought would form a species
distinct from _P. Brasiliensis_. Amongst those I killed, there were some
of both sexes; but the ovarium in the hens was only slightly granular.
The plumage of the different individuals was nearly similar; and in none
appeared like that of an adult bird, although certainly not of a very
young one. Having mentioned these circumstances to Mr. Gould, he
likewise suspected it would form a new species; but the differences
appear so trifling between it and the specimens of young birds in the
British Museum and in the Museum of the Zoological Society, and likewise
of the figure of a young bird given by Spix, (Avium Species Novæ, vol.
i. p. 3.), that I have thought it advisable merely to allude to the
circumstance. In my specimen, which is a cock, the head, instead of
being of a dark brown, which is the usual character of even very
immature birds, is of a pale rusty brown. The bill and cere are less
produced than in the adult _P. Brasiliensis_; and the cere is of a
brighter colour, than what appears to be usual in the young of this
species. In other respects there is such a perfect similarity between
them, that I do not hesitate to consider my specimen as a young bird of
the _P. Brasiliensis_ in one of its states of change;—and to be subject
to great variation of plumage during growth, is known to be a character
common to the birds of this sub-family. It may, however, possibly be
some variety of the _P. Brasiliensis_, for this bird seems subject to
variation: Azara (Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale, vol. iii. p. 35.)
remarks, “Il y a des individus dont les teintes sont plus faibles, ou
d’un brun pâle, avec des taches sur la poitrine, et d’autres qui ont des
couleurs plus foncées; j’ai décrit ceux qui tiennent le milieu entre les
uns et les autres.”
I have myself more than once observed a single very pale coloured bird,
in form like the _P. Brasiliensis_, mingled with the other
carrion-feeding hawks on the banks of the Plata; and there is now in the
British Museum a specimen, which may be considered as partly an albino.
Spix, on the other hand, (Avium Species Novæ, p. 3.) has described some
specimens from the coast of Brazil, as being remarkable from the
darkness of the plumage of their wings.
MILVAGO, _Spix_.
Several new genera have lately been established to receive certain
species of the sub-family of _Polyborinæ_, and consequently great
confusion exists in their arrangement. Mr. George R. Gray has been kind
enough to give me the following observations, by which it appears he has
clearly made out, that Spix’s genus _Milvago_, is that which ought to be
retained. M. D’Orbigny has made two sections in the genus _Polyborus_,
according as the craw is covered with feathers, or is naked, and he
states that the _P. Brasiliensis_ is the only species which comes within
the latter division; but we shall afterwards see that the _Falco Novæ
Zelandiæ_, Auct. (the _Milvago leucurus_ of this work) has a naked craw,
which is largely protruded after the bird has eaten. M. D’Orbigny has
also instituted the genus _Phalcobænus_, to receive a bird of this
sub-family, with the following characters:
“Bec fortement comprimé, sans aucune dent ni sinus, à commissure
trèsarquée à son extrémité; cire alongée et droite; un large espace nu
entourant la partie antérieure et inférieure de l’œil, et s’étendant sur
toute la mandibule inférieure; tarses emplumés sur un tiers de leur
longueur, le reste réticulé; doigts longs, semblables à ceux des
gallinacés, terminés par les ongles longs, deprimés et élargis, très-peu
arqués, toujours à extrémité obtuse ou fortement usée; ailes de la
famille, la troisième penne plus longue que les autres.”
Mr. George R. Gray, however, has pointed out to me that Spix, (in his
Avium Species Novæ) ten years since, made a division in this sub-family,
from the rounded form of the nostril of one of the species, namely, the
_M. ochrocephalus_ of his work, or the _Chimachima_ of Azara. And Mr.
Gray thinks, that all the species may be grouped much more nearly in
relation to their affinities by this character, than by any other: he
further adds;—“The only difference which I can discover between this
latter genus (_Milvago_), and D’Orbigny’s (_Phalcobænus_), is, that in
the latter the bill is rather longer, and not quite so elevated in the
culmen as in the former; and these characters must be considered too
trivial for the foundation of a generic division. I, therefore, propose
to retain Spix’s genus, _Milvago_, for all those _Polyborinæ_ which
possess _rounded nostrils with an elevated bony tubercle in the centre_.
They were once considered to form three distinct genera, viz.—Milvago,
_Spix._ (Polyborus, _Vieill._ Haliaëtus, _Cuv._ Aquila, _Meyen._)—Senex,
_Gray_. (Circaëtus, _Less._)—Phalcobænus, _D’Orb._ but a careful
comparison of the several species, shows a regular gradation in
structure from one to the other, which induces me to consider them as
only forming two sections of one genus. Those which have the bill short,
with the culmen arched, and are of small size, slender form, and with
the tarsi rather long and slender, are—
1. Milvago ochrocephalus, _Spix._
Polyborus chimachima; _Vieill._ (young).
Falco degener, _Licht._
Haliaëtus chimachima, _Less._
2. Milvago pezoporos, _nob._
Aquila pezopora, _Meyen._
3. Milvago chimango, _n._
Polyborus chimango, _Vieill._
Haliaëtus chimango, _Less._
Those which have a buteo-like appearance, and with rather short and
stout tarsi, are,
5. Milvago leucurus, _n._
Falco leucurus, _Forster’s_ Drawings No. 34.
Falco Novæ Zealandiæ, _Gm._
—— Australis, _Lath._
Circaëtus antarcticus, _Less._
Falco Australis, _Jard. & Selby’s III. Orn._ n. s. pl. 24.
6. Milvago albogularis, _n._
Polyborus (Phalcobænus ?) albogularis, _Gould._
7. Milvago montanus, _n._
Phalcobænus montanus, _D’Orb._
8. Milvago megalopterus, _n._
Aquila megaloptera, _Meyen._
1. MILVAGO PEZOPOROS.
Aquila pezopora, _Meyen._ Nov. Act. Phys. Med. Acad. Cæs. Leo. Car. Nat.
Cur. suppl. 1834. p. 62. pl. VI.
I obtained two specimens of this bird, one from Port Desire, in
Patagonia, and another at the extreme southern point of Tierra del
Fuego. Meyen[7] describes it as common on the plains of Chile, and on
the mountains to an elevation of 4000 or 5000 feet. As M. D’Orbigny does
not notice this species, I presume it is not found on the Atlantic side
of the continent, so far north as the Rio Negro, where he resided for
some time. The habits and general appearance of _M. chimango_ and this
bird are so entirely similar, that I did not perceive that the species
were different; hence I cannot speak with certainty of their range, but
it would appear probable that the _M. pezoporus_ replaces in Chile,
Tierra del Fuego and Southern Patagonia the _M. chimango_ of La Plata.
In the same manner the _M. chimango_ is replaced between the latitudes
of Buenos Ayres and Corrientes by a third closely allied species, the
_M. ochrocephalus_. D’Orbigny, (p. 614, in the Zoological part of his
work) speaking of the Chimango, says, “Il n’est pas étonnant qu’on ait
long-temps confondu cette espèce avec le _falco degener_, Illiger, (the
_M. ochrocephalus_) et qu’on l’ait cru de sa famille. Il est impossible
de présenter plus de rapports de forme et surtout de couleur. Nous les
avions, nous-même confondus au premier abord; mais, en remarquant,
ultérieurement, que le sujet que nous regardions comme le mâle ne se
trouvait qu’à Corrientes, tandis qu’il y avait seulement des femelles
sur les rives de la Plata, l’étude plus attentive des mœurs de ces
oiseaux, et les localités respectives qu’habite chacun d’eux, ne tarda
pas à nous y faire reconnaître, avec Azara, deux espèces vraiment
trèsdistinctes; mais qui, depuis, ont encore été confondues, sous la
même nom, par M. la Prince Maximilien de Neuwied.[8]” I may observe that
the figure given in Meyen’s work, has the iris coloured bright red,
instead of which it should have been brown.
2. MILVAGO CHIMANGO.
Polyborus chimango, _Vieill._
Haliaëtus chimango, _Less._
Chimango, _Azar._ Voyage, vol. iii. p. 35.
My specimen was obtained at Maldonado, on the banks of the Plata. In the
following short account of the habits of this bird, it must be
understood that I have confounded together, the _M. chimango_ and the
_M. pezoporus_; but I am certain that almost every remark is applicable
to both species. From what has been said under the last head, it may be
inferred, that both of these allied birds have comparatively limited
ranges, compared with that of the _P. Brasiliensis_. Azara says the
Chimango (and he first distinguished this species from the _M.
ochrocephalus_, or _M. chimachima_) is rarely found so far north as
Paraguay. D’Orbigny saw the Chimango (_M. pezoporus ?_) at Arica in lat.
16°, and I killed the _M. pezoporus_ in the extreme southern point of
America, in lat. 55° 30′ south.
The Chimango, in La Plata, lives chiefly on carrion, and generally is
the last bird of its tribe which leaves the skeleton, and hence it may
frequently be seen standing within the ribs of a cow or horse, like a
bird in a cage. The Chimango often frequents the sea-coast and the
borders of lakes and swamps, where it picks up small fish. It is truly
omnivorous, and will eat even bread, when thrown out of a house with
other offal. I was also assured that in Chiloe, these birds (probably in
this district the _M. pezoporus_) materially injure the potato crops, by
stocking up the roots when first planted. In the same island, I saw them
following by scores the plough, and feeding on worms and larvæ of
insects. I do not believe that they kill, under any circumstances, even
small birds or animals. They are more active than the Carranchas, but
their flight is heavy; I never saw one soar; they are very tame; are not
gregarious; commonly perch on stone walls, and not upon trees. They
frequently utter a gentle, shrill scream.
3. MILVAGO LEUCURUS.
Falco leucurus, _Forster’s_ Drawings, No. 34. MS.
—— Novæ Zelandiæe, _Gm._
—— australis, _Lath._
Circaëtus antarcticus, _Less._
It will be observed in the above list of synonyms, which I have given on
the authority of Mr. G. R. Gray, that this bird, although possessing
well marked characters, has received several specific names. Mr. Gray’s
discovery of Forster’s original drawing with the name _F. leucurus_
written on it, I consider very fortunate, as it was indispensable that
the names by which it is mentioned in most ornithological works, namely,
_Falco_ or _Polyborus Novæ Zelandiæ_, should be changed. There is not, I
believe, the slightest reason for supposing that this bird has ever been
found in New Zealand. All the specimens which of late years have been
brought to England have come from the Falkland Islands, or the extreme
southern portion of South America. The sub-family, moreover, to which it
belongs, is exclusively American; and I do not know of any case of a
land-bird being common to this continent and New Zealand. The origin of
this specific name, which is so singularly inappropriate, as tending to
perpetuate a belief which would form a strange anomaly in the
geographical distribution of these birds, may be explained by the
circumstance of specimens having been first brought to Europe by the
naturalists during Captain Cook’s second voyage, during which New
Zealand was visited, and a large collection made there. In the homeward
voyage, however, Cook anchored in Christmas Sound, in Tierra del Fuego,
and likewise in Staten Land: describing the latter place he says, “I
have often observed the _eagles_ and _vultures_ sitting on the hillocks
among the shags, without the latter, either young or old, being
disturbed at their presence. It may be asked how these birds of prey
live? I suppose on the carcasses of seals and birds, which die by
various causes; and probably not few, as they are so numerous.” From
this description I entertain very little doubt that Cook referred to the
_Cathartes aura_ and _Milvago leucurus_, both of which birds inhabit
these latitudes, as we shall hereafter show.
The plumage in the two sexes of this species differs in a manner unusual
in the family to which it belongs. The description given in all
systematic works is applicable, as I ascertained by dissection, only to
the old females; namely, back and breast black, with the feathers of the
neck having a white central mark following the shaft,—tectrices, with a
broad white band at extremity; thighs and part of the belly rufous-red;
beak “ash gray,” with cere and tarsi “Dutch orange.”
MALE of smaller size than female: dark brown; with tail, pointed
feathers of shoulders and base of primaries, pale rusty brown. On the
breast, that part of each feather which is nearly white in the female,
is pale brown: bill black, cere white, tarsi gray. As may be inferred
from this description, the female is a much more beautiful bird than the
male, and all the tints, both of the dark and pale colours, are much
more strongly pronounced. From this circumstance, it was long before I
would believe that the sexes were as here described. But the Spaniards,
who are employed in hunting wild cattle, and who (like the aboriginal
inhabitants of every country) are excellent practical observers,
constantly assured me that the small birds with gray legs were the males
of the larger ones with legs and cere of an orange colour, and thighs
with rufous plumage.
The YOUNG MALE can only be distinguished from the adult bird by its beak
not being so black, or cere so white; and likewise in a trifling
difference of plumage, such as in the markings of the pointed feathers
about the head and neck, being more like those of the female than of the
old cock. One specimen, which I obtained at the Falkland Islands, I
suppose is a one-year-old female; but its organs of generation were
smooth: in size larger than the male; the tail dark brown, with the tip
of each feather pale colour, instead of being almost black with a white
band; under tail-coverts dark brown, instead of rufous; thighs only
partly rufous, and chiefly on the inner sides; feathers on breast and
shoulder like those of male, with part near shaft brown; those on back
of head with white, like those of adult females. Beak, lower mandible
gray, upper black and gray (in the old female the whole is pale gray);
the edge of cere and the soles of the feet orange, instead of the whole
of the cere, tarsi, and toes being thus coloured. The circumstance of
the young birds of, at least, one year and a half old, as well as of the
adult males, being brown coloured, will, I believe, alone account for
the singular fewness of the individuals with rufous thighs, a fact which
at first much surprised me.
The _Milvago leucurus_ is exceedingly numerous at the Falkland Islands,
and, as an old sealer who had long frequented these seas remarked to me,
this Archipelago appears to be their metropolis. I was informed, by the
same authority, that they are found on the Diego Ramirez Rocks, the Il
Defonso islands, and on some others, but never on the mainland of Tierra
del Fuego. This statement I can corroborate to a certain degree, since I
never saw one in the southern part of Tierra del Fuego, near Cape Horn,
which was twice visited during our voyage. They are not found on
Georgia, or on the other antarctic islands. In many respects these hawks
very closely resemble in their habits the _P. Brasiliensis_. They live
on the flesh of dead animals, and on marine productions. On the Ramirez
Rocks, which support no vegetation, and therefore no land-animals, their
entire sustenance must depend upon the sea. At the Falkland Islands they
were extraordinarily tame and fearless; and constantly haunted the
neighbourhood of the houses to pick up all kinds of offal. If a hunting
party in the country killed a beast, these birds immediately congregated
from all quarters of the horizon; and standing on the ground in a
circle, they patiently awaited for their feast to commence. After
eating, their uncovered craws are _largely_ protruded, giving to them a
disgusting appearance. I mention this particularly, because M. D’Orbigny
says that the _P. Brasiliensis_ is the only bird of this family in which
the craw is much developed. They readily attack wounded birds; one of
the officers of the Beagle told me he saw a cormorant in this state fly
to the shore, where several of these hawks immediately seized upon it,
and hastened its death by their repeated blows. I have been told that
several have been seen to wait together at the mouth of a rabbit hole,
and seize on the animal as it comes out. This is acting on a principle
of union, which is sufficiently remarkable in birds of prey; but which
is in strict conformity with the fact stated by Azara, namely, that
several Carranchas unite together in pursuit of large birds, even such
as herons.
The Beagle was at the Falkland Islands only during the early autumn
(March), but the officers of the Adventure, who were there in the
winter, mentioned many extraordinary instances of the boldness and
rapacity of these birds. The sportsmen had difficulty in preventing the
wounded geese from being seized before their eyes; and often, when
having cautiously looked round, they thought they had succeeded in
hiding a fine bird in some crevice of the rocks, on their return, they
found, when intending to pick up their game, nothing but feathers. One
of these hawks pounced on a dog which was lying asleep close by a party,
who were out shooting; and they repeatedly flew on board the vessel
lying in the harbour, so that it was necessary to keep a good look-out
to prevent the hide used about the ropes, being torn from the rigging,
and the meat or game from the stern. They are very mischievous and
inquisitive; and they will pick up almost anything from the ground: a
large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of heavy
balls, used in catching wild cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced, during the
survey, a severe loss, in a small Kater’s-compass, in a red morocco
case, which was never recovered. These birds are, moreover quarrelsome,
and extremely passionate; it was curious to behold them when, impatient,
tearing up the grass with their bills from rage. They are not truly
gregarious; they do not soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy. On
the ground they run with extreme quickness, putting out one leg before
the other, and stretching forward their bodies, very much like
pheasants. The sealers, who have sometimes, when pressed by hunger,
eaten them, say that the flesh when cooked is quite white, like that of
a fowl, and very good to eat—a fact which I, as well as some others of a
party from the Beagle, who, owing to a gale of wind, were left on shore
in northern Patagonia, until we were very hungry, can answer for, is far
from being the case with the flesh of the Carrancha, or _Polyborus
Brasiliensis_. It is a strange anomaly that any of the _Falconidæ_
should possess such perfect powers of running as is the case with this
bird, and likewise with the _Phalcobænus montanus_ of D’Orbigny. It
perhaps, indicates an obscure relationship with the Gallinaceous order—a
relation which M. D’Orbigny suggests is still more plainly shown in the
Secretary Bird, which he believes represents in Southern Africa, the
_Polyborinæ_ of America.