IN THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN 9 



the " barking bird/' 5 a thrush-like ground bird whose sharp notes sug- 

 gest the presence of a small dog. The condor and buzzard were fre- 

 quently seen. 



One of the most interesting of the birds is the quail-like Attagis, a 

 species of the Limicoke inhabiting the open uplands. Darwin refers to 

 their rising and flying like grouse and says they occupy the place of 

 ptarmigan of the northern hemisphere. 



The most familiar bird of the straits is a species of creeper 6 which 

 follows the hunter constantly through the forest. The Cape Horn wren 

 is as saucy as a wren can be, and the marsh wren creeping through the 

 grass like a mouse, is almost familiar enough to be caught with a 

 butterfly net. 



Of the hundred or more species of birds to be found along the 

 straits we obtained about seventy, three of which belonging to the family 

 of " wood-hewers " 7 were new to science. Our bird collection numbered 

 one hundred and seventy specimens in all. The variety of migratory 

 birds was greater than we had expected, but South America has a 

 wonderfully varied bird fauna, and why should not the migrants fly 

 southward in springtime if summer is to be found in that direction? 

 One has but to get used to a reversal of the seasons. 



The natives had skins of puma, guanaco, deer and Patagonian 

 ostrich, but none of these were observed alive, as our shore trips did not 

 permit of extended journeys inland. The Magellan fox, otter and little 

 striped skunk were easily obtained, the last going whole into a tank of 

 alcohol sent ashore for the purpose, no one being sufficiently self-sacri- 

 ficing to skin it. We could only hope that the alcohol would have a 

 deodorizing effect, but I never had the courage to inquire of the curator 

 of mammals of the Smithsonian Institution respecting an alcoholic 

 specimen of Mephitis patagonica from the Straits of Magellan. 



The inquisitive fox watched us everywhere from the bluffs, but the 

 crab-eating otter quickly slid from the rocks into the tangles of giant 

 kelp so abundant along the shores of this region. 



From Punta Arenas a two days' journey was made in the steam 

 launch to the Fuegian side in search of Antarctic fur seals. We met 

 with these animals about thirty-five miles south of Punta Arenas, at 

 St. Peter and St. Paul Eocks, where a number were lying on the rocks 

 near the water. By landing on the opposite side the captain and I 

 managed to stalk them, killing three with our Winchesters before they 

 could take to the sea. After the seals had been skinned for museum 

 specimens, the carcasses were eagerly appropriated by a canoe load of 

 hungry and more than half-naked Fuegians. While the men were 

 stowing their wind-fall of fresh meat in the canoe, one of the women 

 went foraging among the nests of some cormorants near by, taking all 



5 Pteroptoehvs. 

 e Oxi/unis s; inicavda. 



7 Deudvocolaptida-. 



