194 To the River Plate and Back 



leaves them, they rise again, reassemble in the air, and 

 resume their journey. 



Everywhere the Teru-Teru' or spur- winged lap- 

 wing (Belenopterus cayennensis) was to be seen. This 

 is one of the characteristic birds of the flatlands. It 

 is somewhat larger than the European lapwing, the 

 'Kibitz' of Germany (Vanellus cristatus), with which 

 all who have traveled in the low-countries are familiar, 

 and the eggs of which, marketed in London as "plovers' 

 eggs, " are esteemed a great delicacy. In its appearance 

 and carriage it closely resembles the European lap- 

 wing, but the presence on the shoulder of a spur at once 

 marks it as being a bird, which, like the screamer, has 

 preserved in this organ a trace of relationship to the 

 birds of a former age. The name ' Teru-Teru," like the 

 German "Kibitz," is a name bestowed by the natives in 

 imitation of the call. Hudson says: 'In size, beauty, 

 and spirit it is a king among the plovers. ' It is said 

 to be exceedingly tenacious of the spot upon which 

 it has made its breeding-place and range. It there 

 defends itself as well as it can against intrusion and 

 attack, and even when the land is plowed up by the 

 farmer refuses to forsake it. There is a great deal of 

 interesting information about this bird embodied in 

 literature, and many curious tales are told about it by 

 the people of the country who are familiar with its ways. 

 A little while before reaching our destination I was 

 pleased to observe a number of rheas with rapid strides 

 making away over the prairie. 



Of mammalian life little was to be seen. A few 

 vizcachas (Lagostomus trichodactylus) scuttled away 

 from the side of the track, their brown backs just visible 

 for a moment and the line of their further flight marked 



