| OCR Text |
Show 70 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. throat and centre of the abdomen greyish white, passing into pale buff on the flanks and under tail-coverts; bill and feet blackish brown. Habitat, Patagonia. This bird, though forming a well-marked genus, is in many respects, even in plumage, allied to Furnarius and Opetiorhynchus,-for instance, in the streak over its eyes, in the red band on its wings extending obliquely from the body to the third primary, and to some of the species of these genera in its rather plumose feathers. In its general manners, the same resemblance, together with some differences, always struck me. It lives entirely on the ground, and generally in dry sterile situations, where it haunts the scattered thickets, anrl often flies from one to another. When skulking about the bushes it cocks up its tail, imitating in this respect Pteroptochos and Rhinomya. Its cry is shrill, quickly reiterated, and very similar to that of several species of Furnarius and Opetiorhynchus. The stomach of one which I opened was full of Coleoptera. I procured specimens from three places on the coast of Patagonia; namely, Port Desire, St. Julian, and Santa Cruz; but it is nowhere common. I likewise saw it at a considerable elevation in the eastern valleys of the barren Cordillera, near Mendoza. RHJNOMYA LANCEOLATA. Is. Geqffr. o/ D'01·b. Rhinomya lanccolata. Is. Goo,ffr. <~" D'Orb. Voy. do l'Amcr. Mer. pl. 7, f. I. 1832, cl. 11. pl. 3. id.-Mag. de Zoo!. 1832, 11. pl. a. and 1837, p. 15. I procured a specimen of this bird from the Rio Negro in Northern Patagonia, and I never saw one any where else; and M. D'Orbigny makes the same remark. On. the ~tlantic side of the continent, it replaces the several species of Pteroptoclws ';hteh hve on the shores of the Pacific. Its habits, in some respects, are similar; it ~tves.at the ~ottom o~ hedges or thickets, where it runs with such quickness, that It m1ght eas1ly be mistaken for a rat. It is very unwilling to take flight, so that, ~ was ~ssured by some of the inhabitants, that it could not fly, which, however, ~s a. mtstake .. It frequently utters a loud and very singular cry. The Rhinomya IS d~stantly alhed to the Eremobius pltamicurus, which is found in Southern Patagoma, whose habits in some respects are similar. 1. PTEROPTOCHos TARNII. G. R. Gmy. Hyla~tes Tarnii. Vigors, Proc. Zool. 1830. Megalonyx ruficops. D'Orb. ~ Lajr. Mag. de Zool. 1837. p. 15. Leptonyx Tarnii. D'Orb. ~ Lajr. Voy. de l'Amer. Mer. Av. p. 198, pl. viii. f. 1. This species, as well as several others of the genus and likewise of Scytalopns are confined to the west coast of South America. Th~ P. Tamii ranges from the BIRDS. 71 neighbourhood of Concepcion, lat. 37°, to south of the Peninsula of Tres Montes betwee~I 41° and 50o .. It is n?t found in Tierra del Fuego, where the climate pro~ bably ts too cold for 1t, for m other respects, the great forests of that countrv appear ~dmi~ably. adapted to its habits. Its limit, northward of the province ~f ConcepciOn, ts evidently due to the change which there takes place, from dense forests to an .open and dt:y ~ountry. The P. Tamii is abundant in all parts of the Island of Chlloe, where It IS called by the native Indians, guid-guid; but by the English sailors, the barking-bird. This latter name is very well applied, for the ~oise which it utters is precisely like the yelping of a small dog. When a person IS walking along a pathway within the forest, or on the sea-beach, he will often be surprised to hear on a sudden, close by him, the barking of the guid-rrttid. He ~nay .often watch in vain the thicket, whence the sound proceeds, in ho;es of seemg Its author, and if he endeavour, by beating the bushes, to drive it out, his chance of success will be still smaller. At other times, by standing quietly within the forest, the guid-guid will fearlessly hop close to him, and will stand on the trunk of some dead tree, with its tail erect, and strange figure full in view. It feeds exclusively on the ground, in the thickest and most entangled parts of the forest. It rarely takes wing, and then only for short distances. It has the power of h?pp.ing quickly and with great vigour; when thus awkwardly proceeding, it ca:nes Its short tail in a nearly erect position. I was informed that theguid-gttid, bUilds a nest amongst rotten sticks, close to the ground. 2. PTEROPTOCHOS MEGAPODIUS. Kittl. Pteroptochos megapodius. Kittl. 1830, 1\fem. do l'Acad. 1, pl. iv. et Vogel. von Chili, p. 10, pl. iv. Megalonyx rufus. Leas. Cent. Zoo!. 183l, pl. 66. D'Orb. ~· Lajr. Leptonyx macropus. Swains. Zoo!. Ill. pl. 117. ------ D'Orb. ~· Lafr. Voy. de l'Amer. Mer. Av. 197. . This bird is common in the dry country of central and northern Chile, where It replaces the P. Tarnii of the thickly wooded southern regions. The P. megapodius, is called by the Chilenos, " Et Turco ;" it lives on the ground amongst the bushes which are sparingly scattered over the stony hills. With its tail erect, every now and then it may be seen popping on its stilt-like legs fi:om one bush to another with uncommon celerity. Its appearance is very strange and almost ludicrous, and the bird seems always anxious to hide itself. It does not run, but hops, and can hardly be compelled to take flight. The various loud cries which it utters, when concealed in the bushes, are as strange as its appearance. I opentd the extremely muscular gizzards of several of these birds, and found them filled with beetles, vegetable fibres, and pebbles. Observing the structure of the gizzard, the |
