Oriental, where not a tree can be seen. They are very destructive to the
corn-fields. I was assured that in one year, near Colonia del
Sacramiento, on the north bank of the Plata, 2,500 were killed, a reward
being given for each dozen heads. Many of these birds build their nests
close together in trees, the whole composing a vast mass of sticks. I
saw several of their compound nests on the islands in the river Parana.
2. CONURUS PATACHONICUS.
Psittacus Patagonus, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. p.
Psittacara Patagonica, _Less._ Voy. de la Coquille Zool. pl. 35 bis.
Psittacara Patachonica, _Lear’s_ Ill. Psitt.
Le Patagon, _Azara_, No. 277.
Pattagonian maccaw, _Lath._ Hist. 11, 105.
I obtained specimens of this bird at Bahia Blanca in Northern Patagonia,
where there is not a single tree, and the country is dry and very
sterile. I did not meet with this species in the southern parts of
Patagonia, but it is common near Concepcion in Chile, in nearly the same
latitude. They build their nests in holes in cliffs of earth or gravel,
together with the _Hirundo cyanoleuca_. In September, at Bahia Blanca,
they were laying: their eggs are quite white, and small in proportion to
the bird. Several usually rush forth from their holes at the same
instant, and utter a noisy scream.
PICUS KINGII. _G. R. Gray._
Picus melanocephalus, _King_, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1830, p. 14.
I procured specimens at Valparaiso, and at the Peninsula of Tres Montes
(Lat. 46° S.) At the latter place, I killed in January a pair, male and
female. Captain King’s specimens were obtained from Chiloe. The male has
its whole head scarlet with only the nape black, so that Captain King’s
specific name is unfortunately not applicable for the species; therefore
Mr. G. R. Gray thinks it should be named after the first describer. The
head of the female is black, with some short reddish brown feathers over
nostrils. There appears to be no other difference in the plumage of the
sexes.
CHRYSOPTILUS CAMPESTRIS. _Swains._
Picus campestris, _Licht._ Cat. p. _Spix_, Av. Br. pl. 116.
Le charpentier des champs, _Azara_, No. 253.
My specimens were obtained from Banda Oriental and Buenos Ayres; I saw
it no further southward. Spix says (Birds of Brazil, vol. i. p. 51.) it
inhabits Minas Geraes. They frequent open plains and especially rocky
ground. They are rather wild, and generally live three or four together.
The tail of these ground woodpeckers seems but little used; their beaks,
however, were generally muddy to the base: in the stomach of one I found
only ants. Their flight is undulatory like that of the English
woodpecker, and their loud cry is likewise similar, but each note more
separate. They alight on the branch of a tree, horizontally, in the
manner of ordinary birds; but occasionally I have seen one clinging in
an upright position to a post. They appear to feed exclusively on the
ground.
COLAPTES CHILENSIS. _Vigors._
Picus Chilensis, _Garnot_, Voy. de la Coquille, Zool. pl. 52.
This bird frequents the dry stony hills of central Chile, on which only
a few bushes and trees grow. It is closely related in habits and
structure to the foregoing species, and appears to be its representative
on the western side of the Cordillera; hence I cannot but think the
institution of the above two genera unfortunate. It is the “_Pitui_” of
Molina, which name, I imagine, it derives from its peculiar cry. Molina
states, that it builds its nest in holes in banks.
1. DIPLOPTERUS NÆVIUS. _Boie._
Cuculus nævius, _Lath._ Ind. 220.
Rio de Janeiro. April.
2. DIPLOPTERUS GUIRA. _G. R. Gray._
Cuculus guira, _Linn._
Crotophaga Piririgua, _Vieil._ Gal. des Ois. pl. 44.
Ptiloleptus cristatus, _Swains._
Buenos Ayres. In small flocks; a noisy, chattering bird.
CROTOPHAGA ANI. _Linn._
Petit Bout-de-Petun, pl. enl. 102. f. 2.
Rio de Janeiro. May. The stomach of several specimens contained remains
of numerous Orthopterous, and some Coleopterous insects.
ORDER GYRATONES. _Bonap._
1. COLUMBA FITZROYII. _King._
Columba Fitzroyii, _King._, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. part 1, 1830, p. 14.
Columba denisea, _Temm._ pl. col. 502.
Columba araucana, _Less._ Voy. de Coqu. pl. 40.?
Peninsula of Tres Montes. Lat. 46° S. January. Captain King’s specimens
were obtained at Chiloe, three degrees northward. I procured other
specimens near Valparaiso. This bird therefore frequents dry rocky land,
and damp impervious forests.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 46._
_Zenaida Galapagoensis._
]
2. COLUMBA LORICATA. _Licht._ Vög. Verz. s. 67.
Columba gymnophthalmus, _Temm._, Pig. i. 18.
—— leucoptera, _Pr. Max._ Reise, 2, p. 242.
—— picazuro, _Temm._ Pig. p. 111.
Picazuro, _Azara_, Voy. No. 317.
Frequents in large flocks the fields of Indian corn in the neighbourhood
of Maldonado. Legs dull “carmine red.” This, probably, is the
representative on the eastern side of the Andes of the foregoing or
Chilian species.
1. ZENAIDA AURITA. _G. R. Gray._
Columba aurita, _Temm._ Pig. p. 60. _Wagl._ sp. 70.
I procured specimens of this bird at Maldonado (where it was very
abundant) in La Plata, and at Valparaiso in Chile.
2. ZENAIDA GALAPAGOENSIS. _Gould._
PLATE XLVI.
_Z. vertice, cervice, dorso caudæque tegminibus obscurè fuscis
vinaceo-tinctis; dorso nigro-guttato; alarum tegminibus fuscis,
plumâ singulâ pallidè vinaceo-fusco terminatâ, pogonii utriusque
margine, maculâ oblongâ magnâ nigrâ, lineâ albâ separatâ; remigibus
primariis et secundariis nigrescenti-fuscis, cinerascenti-albo
angustè marginatis; caudâ fuscescenti cinereo ad apicem fasciâ latâ
irregulari nigra; loris lineâque angustâ supra et infra oculari
nigris pallidè fusco mixtis; gulâ pectoreque vinaceis, colli
lateribus ærato tinctis; crisso, caudæque tegminibus inferioribus
cinerascentibus, rostro nigro, pedibus rufescenti aurantiacis._
Long. tot. 8½ unc.; _alæ_, 5¼; _caudæ_, 3¼; _tarsi_, ⅞; _rostri_, 1.
Crown of the head and back of the neck, dark chocolate brown, with a
vinous tinge; back and tail-coverts the same, the former spotted
with black; wing-coverts brown, each feather having a large oblong
spot of black on the margin of either web, separated by a line of
white, and tipped with light vinous brown, the white predominating
on the larger coverts, primaries and secondaries blackish brown,
finely edged with greyish white; tail brownish grey, crossed near
the extremity with a broad irregular band of black; lores and a
narrow line above and beneath the eye black, interrupted with light
brown: throat and chest rich vinous, glossed on the sides of the
neck with metallic bronze, and fading into greyish on the vent and
under tail-coverts; bill black; feet reddish orange.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Sept. and Oct.)
This species may at once be distinguished from the _Z. aurita_, by the
redder tint of its breast,—the greater number of black marks on the wing
coverts and back—the outer half of some of the feathers on the wing
coverts being white—the marks on the under side of the tail being grey
(instead of white as in the _Z. aurita_) and by the larger size of its
beak.
This dove is one of the most abundant birds in the Archipelago. It
frequents the dry rocky soil of the low country, and often feeds in the
same flock with the several species of _Geospiza_. It is exceedingly
tame, and may be killed in numbers. Formerly it appears to have been
much tamer than at present. Cowley,[21] in 1684, says that the “Turtle
doves were so tame that they would often alight upon our hats and arms,
so as that we could take them alive: they not fearing man, until such
time as some of our company did fire at them, whereby they were rendered
more shy.” Dampier[22] (in the same year) also says that a man in a
morning’s walk might kill six or seven dozen of these birds. At the
present time, although certainly very tame, they do not alight on
people’s arms; nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such
numbers. It is surprising that the change has not been greater;—for
these islands during the last hundred and fifty years, have been
frequented by buccaneers and whalers; and the sailors, wandering through
the woods in search of tortoises, take delight in knocking down the
little birds.
3. ZENAIDA BOLIVIANA. _G. R. Gray._
Columba Boliviana, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Mag. de Zool. 1836. Ois. p. 33. pl.
75.
My specimen was obtained (end of August) at Valparaiso.
1. COLUMBINA STREPITANS. _Spix._
(Av. pl. 75, f. 1.)
I procured specimens at Maldonado (where it was not common), on the
banks of the Plata, and at Rio Negro, in Northern Patagonia.
2. COLUMBINA TALPACOTI. _G. R. Gray._
Columba Talpacoti, _Temm._ Pig. p. 22. t. 12.
Columbina Cabocolo, _Spix_, Av. pl. 75a. f. 1.
Le Pigeon rougeatre, _Azara_, No. 323.
My specimens were obtained at Rio de Janeiro.
1. ATTAGIS FALKLANDICA. _G. R. Gray._
Tetrao Falklandicus, _Gmelin_, Syst. 1. 762.
La Caille des Isles Malouines, _Buff._ pl. enl. 222.
Coturnix Falklandica, _Bonn._ Ency. Meth. Orn. 220.
Perdix Falklandica, _Lath._ Ind. Orn. 11, 652.
Ortyx Falklandica, _Steph._ Shaw’s Zool. xi. 386.
This bird is not uncommon on the mountains in the extreme southern parts
of Tierra del Fuego. It frequents, either in pairs or small coveys, the
zone of alpine plants above the region of forest. It is not very wild,
and lies very close on the bare ground.
2. ATTAGIS GAYII. _Less._
Attagis Gayii, _Less._ Cent. Zool. pl. 47, p. 155.
A specimen was given me, which was shot on the lofty Cordillera of
Coquimbo, only a little below the snow-line. At a similar height, on the
Andes, behind Copiapo, which appear so entirely destitute of vegetation,
that any one would have thought that no living creature could have found
subsistence there, I saw a covey. Five birds rose together, and uttered
noisy cries; they flew like grouse, and were very wild. I was told that
this species never descends to the lower Cordillera. These two species,
in their respective countries, occupy the place of the ptarmigan of the
northern hemisphere.
TINOCHORUS RUMICIVORUS. _Eschsch._
Thinocorus rumicivorus, _Eschsch._ Zool. Atl. pl. 2.
Tinochorus Eschscholtzii, _Less._ Cent. Zool. pl. 50.
This very singular bird, which in its habits and appearance partakes of
the character both of a wader and one of the gallinaceous order, is
found wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture land, in
southern South America. We saw it as far south as the inland plains of
Patagonia at Santa Cruz, in lat. 50°. On the western side of the
Cordillera, near Concepcion, where the forest land changes into an open
country, I saw this bird, but did not procure a specimen of it: from
that point throughout Chile, as far as Copiapo, it frequents the most
desolate places, where scarcely another living creature can exist: it
thus ranges over at least twenty-three degrees of latitude. It is found
either in pairs or in small flocks of five or six; but near the Sierra
Ventana I saw as many as thirty and forty together. Upon being
approached they lie close, and then are very difficult to be
distinguished from the ground; so that they often rise quite
unexpectedly. When feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs wide
apart. They dust themselves in roads and sandy places. They frequent
particular spots, and may be found there day after day. When a pair are
together, if one is shot, the other seldom rises; for these birds, like
partridges, only take wing in a flock. In all these respects, in the
muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable food, in the arched beak and
fleshy nostrils, short legs, and form of foot, the Tinochorus has a
close affinity with quails. But directly the bird is seen flying, one’s
opinion is changed; the long pointed wings, so different from those in
the gallinaceous order, the high irregular flight, and plaintive cry
uttered at the moment of rising, recall the idea of a snipe.
Occasionally they soar like partridges when on the wing in a flock. The
sportsmen of the Beagle unanimously called it the short-billed snipe. To
this genus, or rather to that of the sandpiper, it approaches, as Mr.
Gould informs me, in the shape of its wing, the length of the scapulars,
the form of the tail, which closely resembles that of _Tringa
hypoleucos_, and in the general colour of the plumage. The male bird,
however, has a black mark on its breast, in the form of a yoke, which
may be compared to the red horseshoe on the breast of the English
partridge. Its nest is said to be placed on the borders of lakes,
although the bird itself is an inhabitant of the parched desert. I was
told that the female lays five or six white eggs, spotted with red. I
opened the stomachs of many specimens at Maldonado, and found only
vegetable matter, which consisted of chopped pieces of a thick rushy
grass, and leaves of some plant, mixed with grains of quartz. The
contents of the intestine and the dung were of a very bright green
colour. At another season of the year, and further south, I found the
craw of one full of small seeds and a single ant. Those which I shot
were exceedingly fat, and had a strong offensive game odour; but they
are said to be very good eating, when cooked. Pointers will stand to
them. In the Appendix Mr. Eyton has given an anatomical description of
this bird, which partly confirms that affinity both to the Grallatores
and Razores, which is so remarkable in its habits and external
appearance.
CHIONIS ALBÂ. _Forst._
_Shaw’s_ Nat. Miscel. pl. 481.
I opened the stomach of a specimen killed at the Falkland Islands, and
found in it small shells, chiefly Patellæ, pieces of sea-weed, and
several pebbles. The contents of the stomach and body smelt most
offensively. Forster remarked this circumstance; but since his time,
other observers, namely, Anderson, Quoy, Gaimard, and Lesson (Manuel
d’Ornithologie, tom. ii, p. 342) have found that this is not always the
case, and they state that they have actually eaten the Chionis. I was
not aware of these observations, but independently was much surprised at
the extraordinary odour exhaled. We, like other voyagers in the
Antarctic seas, were struck at the great distance from land, at which
this bird is found in the open ocean. Its feet are not webbed, its
flight is not like that of other pelagic birds, and the contents of its
stomach, and structure of legs, show that it is a coast-feeder. Does it
frequent the floating icebergs of the Antarctic ocean, on which sea-weed
and other refuse is sometimes cast?
1. NOTHURA MAJOR. _Wagl._
Nothura major, _Wagl._ Syst. Av. p. sp. 4.
Tinamus major, _Spix_, Av. pl. 80.
These birds are very common on the northern shores of the Plata. They do
not rise in coveys, but generally by pairs. They do not conceal
themselves nearly so closely as the English partridge, and hence great
numbers may be seen in riding across the open grassy plains. Note, a
shrill whistle. It appears a very silly bird: a man on horseback, by
riding round and round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to
approach closer each time, may knock on the head almost as many as he
pleases. The more common method is to catch them with a running noose,
or little lazo, made of the stem of an ostrich’s feather, fastened to
the end of a long stick.[23] A boy on a quiet old horse will frequently
thus catch thirty or forty in a day. The flesh of this bird, when
cooked, is most delicately white, but rather tasteless.
The egg of this species, I believe, closely resembles that of the two
following.
2. NOTHURA MINOR. _Wagl._
Nothura minor, _Wagl._ Syst. Av. p. sp. 4.
Tinamus minor, _Spix_, Av. Br. pl. 82.
I procured a specimen of this bird at Bahia Blanca, in northern
Patagonia, where it frequented the sand-dunes and the surrounding
sterile plains. Its habits appear similar to those of the _N. major_,
but it lies closer and does not so readily take to the wing. It is the
smallest of the species mentioned in this work, and its plumage is less
distinctly spotted. The egg of this bird is described below. Spix’s
specimens were obtained at Tijuco in Brazil. The figure in his work on
the Birds of Brazil, differs slightly from mine, in being less marked on
the breast.
3. NOTHURA PERDICARIA. _G. R. Gray._
Crypturus perdicarius, _Kittlitz_, Vögel von Chili.
This species closely resembles, in its general appearance and habits,
the _N. major_, of which probably it is the analogue on the western side
of the Cordillera. It is larger and has a considerably longer beak than
the _N. major_; its breast is not spotted, and its abdomen has a less
fulvous tinge. The _N. perdicarius_ runs on the open ground, generally a
pair together, in the same unconcealed manner, as its analogue, and does
not readily lie close. Flight similar, but on rising it utters a
shriller whistle, of a different tone. It does not appear to be so
easily caught as the Plata species. It is tolerably abundant in all
parts of Chile, as far north as the valley of Guasco; but I was assured,
that it has never been seen in the valley of Copiapo, although only
seventy miles north of Guasco, and of a similar character. The egg is
very glossy and of a peculiar colour, which, according to Werner’s
nomenclature, is a palish chocolate red: length in longer axis 2·07 of
an inch; shorter axis 1·495 of an inch. The egg of the _N. minor_ is of
a similar colour, but a shade paler, and rather smaller; its length
being 1·815, and its transverse diameter 1·3 of an inch.
RHYNCHOTUS RUFESCENS. _Wagl._
Rhynchotus rufescens, _Wagl._ Av. Syst.
Tinamus rufescens. _Temm._ Gall. iii. p. 552.
Rhynchotus fasciatus. _Spix_, Av. Br. pl. 76.
Cryptura Guaza. _Vieill._
Crypturus rufescens. _Licht._ Vög. Verz. s. 67.
My specimens were procured at Maldonado, where it is a much rarer bird
than the _Nothura major_; I met with it also in the sterile country near
Bahia Blanca. At Maldonado it frequented swampy thickets on the borders
of lakes. It lies very close, and is unwilling to rise, but often
utters, whilst on the ground, a very shrill whistle. When on the wing,
it flies to a considerable distance. Several are generally found
together, but they do not rise at the same instant, like a covey of
partridges. Flesh, when cooked, perfectly white. Spix’s specimens were
procured in the country between St. Paul’s and Minas Geraes; so that
this bird, as well as the _Nothura minor_, has a considerable range.
ORDER—CURSORES. _Temm._
1. RHEA AMERICANA. _Lath._
This bird is well known to abound on the plains of La Plata. To the
north it is found, according to Azara, in Paraguay, where, however, it
is not common; to the south its limit appears to be from 42° to 43°. It
has not crossed the Cordillera; but I have seen it within the first
range of mountains on the Uspallata plain, elevated between six and
seven thousand feet. The ordinary habits of the ostrich are well known.
They feed on vegetable matter, such as roots and grass; but at Bahia
Blanca, I have repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water to
the extensive mud-banks which are then dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos
say, of catching small fish. Although the ostrich in its habits is so
shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it falls a
prey, without much difficulty, to the Indian or Gaucho armed with the
bolas. When several horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes
confounded, and does not know which way to escape. They generally prefer
running against the wind; yet at the first start they expand their
wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On one fine hot day I saw
several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted
concealed, till quite closely approached. It is not generally known that
ostriches readily take to the water. Mr. King informs me that in
Patagonia, at the Bay of San Blas and at Port Valdes, he saw these birds
swimming several times from island to island. They ran into the water,
both when driven down to a point, and likewise of their own accord, when
not frightened: the distance crossed was about 200 yards. When swimming,
very little of their bodies appear above water, and their necks are
extended a little forward: their progress is slow. On two occasions, I
saw some ostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz river, where it was
about four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. Captain Sturt,[24]
when descending the Murrumbidgee, in Australia, saw two emus in the act
of swimming.
The inhabitants who live in the country readily distinguish, even at a
distance, the male bird from the female. The former is larger and darker
coloured,[25] and has a larger head. The ostrich, I believe the cock,
emits a singular, deep-toned, hissing note. When first I heard it,
standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought it was made by
some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence it comes,
or from how far distant. When we were at Bahia Blanca in the months of
September and October, the eggs were found, in extraordinary numbers,
all over the country. They either lie scattered single, in which case
they are never hatched, and are called by the Spaniards, huachos, or
they are collected together into a shallow excavation, which forms the
nest. Out of the four nests which I saw, three contained twenty-two eggs
each, and the fourth twenty-seven. In one day’s hunting on horseback
sixty-four eggs were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and
the remaining twenty scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm,
and there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird
alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the
young. The cock when on the nest lies very close; I have myself almost
ridden over one. It is asserted that at such times they are occasionally
fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a
man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him. My informer pointed
out to me an old man, whom he had seen much terrified by one chasing
him. I observe, in Burchell’s Travels in South Africa, that he remarks,
“having killed a male ostrich, and the feathers being dirty, it was said
by the Hottentots to be a nest bird.” I understand that the male emu, in
the Zoological Gardens, takes care of the nest: this habit therefore is
common to the family.[26]