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Show 102 MR. W. H. HUDSON ON THE HABITS OF RAILS. [Jan. 18, 4. Notes on the Rails of the Argentine Republic. By W . H. HUDSON, C.M.Z.S. [Eeceived December 19, 1875.] The Carau or Courlan (Aramus scolopaceus) has been called " an abnormal relative of the Rails at the most;" but in habits and appearance it is certainly near akin to them. The beak of this bird is nearly 5 inches long, straight, and of an iron hardness; the tip is slightly bent to one side, the lower mandible somewhat more than the upper. The tongue extends to the extremity of the beak ; at the end it is of a horny toughness, and frayed or split into filaments. This beak is a most effective instrument in opening shells ; for where mollusks abound the Courlan subsists exclusively on them, so that the margins of the streams which this bird frequents are strewn with innumerable shells lying open and emptied of their contents. Every shell has an angular piece, half an inch long, broken from the edge of one valve. Mussels and clams close their shells so tightly that it would perhaps be impossible for a bird to insert his beak, however knife-like in shape and hardness, between the valves in order to force them open; therefore I believe the Aramus first feels the shell with his foot whilst wading, then with quick dexterity strikes his beak into it before it closes, and so conveys it to the shore. It would be most difficult for the bird to lift the closed shell from the water and carry it to land; but supposing it could do this, and afterwards succeeded in drilling a hole through it with its beak, the hole thus made would have jagged edges, and be irregular in shape; but it is, as I have said, angular and with a clean edge, showing that the bird had just thrust his beak half an inch or an inch between the valves, then forced them open, breaking the piece out during the process, and probably keeping the shell steady by pressing on it with the feet. By day the Aramus is a dull bird, concealing itself in dense reed-beds in streams and marshes. When driven up he rises laboriously, the legs dangling down, and mounts vertically to a considerable height. He flies high, the wings curved upward and violently flapped at irregular intervals; descending, he drops suddenly to the earth, the wings motionless, pointing up, and the body swaying from side to side, so that the bird presents the appearance of a falling parachute. On smooth ground he walks faster than a man, striking out his feet in a stately manner and jerking the tail, and runs rapidly ten or twelve yards before rising. At the approach of night he becomes active, uttering long clear piercing cries many times repeated, and heard distinctly two miles away. These cries are most melancholy, and, together with its mourning plumage and recluse habits, have won for the Aramus several pretty vernacular names. He is called the "Lamenting Bird" and the "Crazy Widow," but is more familiarly known as the "Carau." Near sunset the Caraus leave the reed-beds and begin to ascend |