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Show 1870.] LETTER FROM MR. W. H. HUDSON. 159 quently a ' Woodpecker which never climbs a tree' (Origin of Species, 4th ed. ch. vi. pp. 212, 213). " The perusal of the passage quoted by one acquainted with the bird referred to and its habits might induce him to believe that the author had purposely wrested the truth in order to prove his theory ; but as Mr. Darwin's ' Researches' were written long before the theory of natural selection was conceived, and abound in similar misstatements when treating of this country, the error must be attributed to other causes. The facts are, that besides orchards, and groves of willow, poplar, & c , which have been planted wherever the plains are settled, there is also the continuous wood, which I have already described, growing on the shores of the La Plata. " South of Salado River the numbers of wild trees have given a name to a large department of this province. There is also in the vicinity of Dolores, 150 miles south of Buenos Ayres city, a verv extensive forest. All these woods are frequented by the Carpintero, where he may be observed climbing the trees, resting on his stiff and frayed tail-feathers, and boring the bark with his bill as other Woodpeckers do. But his favourite resort is to the solitary Ombu, a tree found over a great extent of the plains of Buenos Ayres. This tree attains a considerable size; there is one situated within fifty paces of the room I am writing in that has a trunk which measures at a height of 3 feet above the ground 30 feet in circumference. This very tree was for years a breeding-place for several Carpinteros, and still exhibits on its trunk and larger branches scars of old wounds inflicted by their bills. The wood of the Ombu is very soft; and the Carpintero invariably bores for breeding where it is green and sound. The hole it forms runs horizontally about 9 inches into the tree, then slants upward a few inches more, and at the end of this passage a round chamber is excavated to receive the eggs. " The Carpintero frequently lights on the ground, where it is seen to feed on ants and larvae, and is sometimes found several miles distant from any trees. This, however, is very rare; and it is on such occasions always apparently on its way to some tree or trees in the distance. It very rarely takes a long flight, but travels by very easy stages. These circumstances have led to its being described as living exclusively on the ground. Outlying the regions abounding in trees, and which I have described as the habitat of the Carpintero, there are vast tracts in the southern and western portions of Buenos Ayres where, in truth, ' not a tree grows;' but in these regions the Carpintero is never seen. It is not only the erroneous account of this bird's habits that makes Mr. Darwin's mention of it peculiarly unfortunate, but also because this bird rather affords an argument against the truth of Mr. Darwin's hypothesis. Mr. Darwin describes it as a perfect Woodpecker, not only in conformation, but in its colouring, undulatory flight, and shrill obstreperous cries. It is plain, then, that natural selection has left it unaltered; and is it not reasonable to suppose that, if there was such an agency in nature, it would have done something to alter this species, placed as it is in a |