OCR Text |
Show 162 lUO PARANA. Oct. 1833. like swallows, they continued to fly backw~rds and forwards, c1 o se b ef ore me. Occasionally when leavmg the su. rface of the water their flight was wild, irregular' and rapl~ ; they t l1 en al so u tte re d loud harsh cries. When these bir.d s ar.e fishing, the length of the primary feathers of the wmgs IS seen to b e qm' te n ecessary, in order to keep the latter dry. When thus employed, their for~s re~emble, the ~y~bol by which many artists represent marme birds. 'I he ta1l1s much used in steering their irregular course. . These birds are common far inland along the course of the R10 Parana· it is said they remain during the whole year, and breed in the ~arshes. During the day they rest in flocks on the grassy plains at some distance from the water. Being at anchor, as I hav; said, in one of the deep creeks between the islands of the Parana as the eveninO' drew to a close, one of these scissor-beaks suddenly app:ared. The water was quite still, and many little fish were rising. The bird contin~ed for a long time to skim the surface, flying in its wild and uregular manner up and down the narrow canal, now dark with the growing night and the shadows of the overhanging tr~es. At Monte Video I observed that some large flocks durmg the day remained on the mud-banks at the head of the harbour, in the same manner as on the grassy plains near the Parana; and every evening they took flight direct to seaward. From these facts, I suspect that the Rhyncops generally fishes by night, at which time many of the lower animals come most abundantly to the surface. M. Lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the shells of the mactrre, buried in the sand-banks on the coast of Chile : from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much produced, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable that this can be a general habit. In our course down the Parana, I only observed three other birds, whose habits are worth mentioning. One is a small kingfisher (Alcedo Amer-icana); it has a longer tail than the European species, and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position. Its flight also, instead of being direct Oct. 1833. ORNITHOLOGY. 163 and rapid, like the course of an arrow, is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed birds. It utters a low note like the clicking together of two small stones. A small green parrot~* with a gray breast, appears to prefer the tall trees on the Islands, to any other situation, for its buildingplace. A number of nests are placed so close together, as t.o f~rm one great mass of sticks. These parrots always hve m flocks, and commit great ravages on the cornfields. I was told, that near Colonia 2500 were killed in t~e course of one year. A bird (Mitvulus foificatus) With a forked tail, terminated by two long feathers and named by the Spaniards scissor-tail, is very commo~ near Buenos Ayres. It commonly sits on a branch of the ombn tree, near the house, and thence takes a short flight in pursuit of in~ects,. and returns to the same spot. When on the wmg, It presents, in its manner of :flight and general appearance, a caricature-likeness of the common swallow. It. has t~e power in the air of turning very shortly, and m so domg, opens and shuts its tail sometimes in a horizontal or lateral, and sometimes i~ a vertical ~irection, just like a pair of scissors. In structure, this bird Is a true tyrant-flycatcher, although in its habits certainly allied to the swallows. OcTOBER 16TH.-Some leagues above Rozario the western ~bore was bounded by perpendicular cliffs, which extended m a long line to below San Nicholas. Hence the coast more resembled that of the sea, than that of a fresh-water river. It is a great drawback to the scenery of the Parana, that, from the soft natur~ of its banks, the water is very muddy. The Uruguay, :flowmg through a granitic country, is much clearer; and I am told, that where the two channels unite at t~e .hea~ of the Plata, the waters may for a long distance be d1stmgmshed by their black and red colours. In the evening, the wind not being quite fair, as usual we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew rather freshlv, though * Lajeune J7erwe of Azara. Latham Gen. Hist., vol. ii., p. 192. M2 |