The Delta of the Parana 



183 



cordiality, was getting his oranges, I wandered away 



among the trees. I was delighted while doing so to 



come upon a domesticated pair of the Crested Screamer 



(Chaunia chavaria), known by the natives under the 



vernacular name of chaja. This great bird, as large as 



a swan, is remarkable because of the fact that the wings 



are each armed with two large spurs, and it is therefore 



sometimes called the " Spur- 



winged Goose.' It used to 



be until quite recently very 



common on the pampas south 



of Buenos Aires, and, though 



the flesh is excellent, it was 



rarely killed by the people 



of Spanish descent, who, unlike 



their cousins, the Italians, are 



not given to the wholesale de- 



struction of birds. The rapid 



increase of Italian immigra- 



tion into Argentina bodes ill 



for the preservationof its splen- Fig I4 ._ 



did avifauna, and the Crested (Chaunia chavaria). 



Screamer is doomed to exter- siz e- 

 mination unless it is speedily 



domesticated, which can easily be done. It lends 

 itself to domestication more readily than most water- 

 fowls, and it ought to be preserved in this way. The 

 bird is one of the most remarkable of the anserine 

 group on account of its singular habits. These have 

 been described by Hudson, and I cannot forbear giving 

 a brief extract from his interesting account. He says: 



Screamer 



& nat. 



The screamer is a very heavy bird, and rises from the ground 

 laboriously, the wings, as in the case of the swan, making a 



