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Show 42 ZOOLOGY OF TilE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. . k He s where there is not a drop of water, it ~~ff~~: ;~;e~da~.~~ I~h~r~:~~tsy 0~ath1 allied genus Alcedo; altho.ugh certainly it abounded m~re in those valleys where streamlets o~curred. This Halcyon was the only brilliantly coloured bird which I saw on the Island of St. Jago. 1. CERYL£ AMERICANA, Boie. Alcedo Americana, Gmel. This Kingfisher is common on the banks of the Parana. It frequents the borders of lakes and rivers, and sitting on the branch of a tree, ?r on a stone, it thence takes short flights, and dashes into the water to s~cure 1ts prey. l~s manner of fl ym· g 1· s ne1' ther di'rect nor rapid • w.h ic.h character 1s so remarkable m the flight of the European species ; but 1t IS weak and undulatory •. a~d resembles that of the soft-billed birds. It often arrests itself sud~enly 111 1ts course, and hovers over the surface of the water, preparatory to dartmg ~n so~e 11 fi h When seated on a twig it constantly elevates and depresses 1ts tall ; sma s . . d 't . th t' ff and as might have been expected from its fig~re, 1t oes not s1 . m e s 1 upright position so peculiar to the European Kmgfisher. Its note 1s not unfrequently uttered: it is low, and like the clicking togeth~r of two small sto~es. I was informed that it builds in trees. The internal coatmg of the stomach IS of a fine orange colour. Mr. Gould has seen specimens of this bird from Mexico; it enjoys, therefore, a very wide range. 2. CERYL£ TORQUATA, Bonap. Alccdo torquata. Gmel. Ispida torquata. Swain. This bird is common in the south part of Chile, in Chiloe, the Chonos Archipelago, and on the whole west coast, as far as the extreme southern part~ of Tierra del Fuego. In these countries, it almost exclusively frequents the retued bays and channels of the sea with which the land is intersected; and lives on marine productions. I opened the stomach of one, and found it full of the remains of crustacere, and a part of a small fish. It occurs likewise in La Plata, and is very common in Brazil, where it haunts fresh water. It is said (Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat.) to occur in the West Indian islands; it has, therefore, a wider range (from the equatorial region to the neighbourhood of Cape Horn) than the Ceryle A1neriea1la. BIRDS. 43 FAMILY.- MUSCICAPIDlE. Vieill. Sun-Fut.-TYRANNINJE. Sw. SAUROPHAGUS SULPHURATUS. Swains. Lanius sulplmrntus. Gmel. Tyrannus magnanimus. Vieill. Eucy. Mcth. p. 850. Tyrannus sulphuratus. D'Orb. et Lajr. Mag. de Zool. 1837, p. 42. The habits of this bird are singular. It is very common in the open country, on the northern banks of the Plata, where it does not appear to be a bird of passage. It obtains its food in many different methods. I have frequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. When seen from a short distance, thus suspended in the air, it might very readily be mistaken for one of the rapacious order; its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and rapidity. At other times the Saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of water, and there, remaining stationary, like a kingfisher, it catches any small fish which come near the margin. These birds not unfrequently are kept, with their wings cut, either in cages or in court-yards. They soon become tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd manners, which were described to me, as being similar to those of the common magpie. Their flight is undulatory, for the weight of the head and bill appears too great for the body. In the evening the Saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the road-side, and continually repeats, without change, a shrill and rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate words. The Spaniards say it is like the words, "Bien te veo" (I see you well), and accordingly have given it this name. MusciVORA TvnANNUS. G. R. Gmy. Muscicapa Tyrannus. Sw. Tyr::mnus Savana. Vieill. Bonap. Am. Om. pl. 1. f. 1. This species belongs to Mr. Swainson's genus Milvulus (more properly Milvilus,) but which name Mr. G. R. Gray has altered to Muscivora as the Jatter was proposed for Muse. foljieata as far back as 1801, by Lacepede. It is very common near Buenos Ayres; but I do not recollect having seen many in Banda Oriental. It sits on the bough of a tree, and very frequently on |