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Show 256 FALKLAND ISLANDS. March, 1834. fragments have been levelled into one continuous sheet. If durin()' the earthquake* which in 1835 overthrew Concepcion, in Chile, it was thought wonderful that small bodies should have been pitched a few inches from the ground, what must we say to a movement which has caused fragments, many tons in weight (like so much sa~d on a vibrating board), to move onwards and find theu level? I have seen, in the Cordillera of the Andes, the evident marks where stupendous mountains have been broken into piec~s like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown on the1r vertical edges ; but never did any scene, like the " streams of stones," so forc~bly convey to my mind the idea of a convulsion of. which in historical records we might in vam seek for any counterpart. I have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. I have before described the Polyborus or Caracara. There are some other hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. The waterfowlt are particularly numerous, and they must formerly, from the accounts of old navigators, have been much more so. One day, having placed myself between a penguin (Aptenod!Jles demersa) and the water, I was much amused by watching its habits. It was a brave bird ; and till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards. Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him; every inch gained he firmly kept, standing close before me, erect and determined. When thus opposed he continually rolled his head from side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of distinct vision only lay in the anterior and • An inhabitant of Mendoza, and hence well capable of judging, assured me that, during the several years he had resided on these islands, he had never feit the slightest shock of an earthquake. t I may mention, that J one day observed a cormorant playing with a fish which it had caught. Eight times successively the bird let its prey go, then dived after it, and although in deep water, brought it each time to the surface. In the Zoological Gardens I have seen the otter treat a fish in the same manner, much as a cat does a mouse. I do not know of any other instance where dame Nature appears so wilfu1ly cruel. March, 1834. 0RNI1'IIOLOGY. 257 ~asal part of. each ey~. This bird is commonly called the Jackass pengum, from Its habit, while on shore of th · · h db , rowmg 1ts ea ackwards, and making a loud stranO'e noise l'k h b . . o ' very 1 e t e . raymg of that ammal '· but while at sea, an d un dI' s-turbed, 1ts note is very deep and solemn and is oft h d · h · h · ' en ear m t e mg t-tlme. In diving, its little plumeless winO's are used as fins ; but on the land as front leo-s WI 0 1' . ' o • 1en craw mo- (~t may be said on. fo~ legs) through the tussocks, or on th: side .of a grassy chff, It moved so very quickly that it might readily h~ve been mistaken for a quadruped. When at sea and fi..shmg,. it comes to the surface, for the purpose of breathmg, w1th such a spring, and dives again so instanta~ Ieously, that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that it 1s not a fish leaping for sport. T~o kinds of geese frequent the Falklands. The upland species (Anas leucoptera) is common in pairs, and in small flocks, throughout the island. They do not miO'rate but build on the small outlying islets. This is supp~sed ~0 be from fear of the foxes : and it is perhaps from the same cause that these birds, though very tame by day are sh and wild in the dusk of the evening. They live e~tirely 0~ veg~table matter. The rock-goose, so called from living exclusively on the sea-beach (Anas antatctica), is common both here and on the west coast of America, as far north as Chile. In the deep and retired channels of Tierra del Fuego, the snow-white gander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort, and standing close by each other on some distant rocky point, is a common feature in the landscape. In these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose -(Auas braclt!Jpfem), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is verr abundant. These birds were in former days called, from their extraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the water, race-horses; but now they are named, much more appropriately, steamers. Their wings are too small and weak to allow o~ flight, but by their aid, partly swimming and partly flappmg the surface of the water, they move very quickly. The manner is something like that by which the common house- VOL. III. s |