68 BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Swainson (1837), antedated by Palamedea cristata Linnaeus (1766), 

 a name that refers to the cariama, overlooked a note by Dr. C. W. 

 Kichmond to the effect that the proper name for the bird in question 

 was found in Ghaja torquata Oken (1816). 



The screamer was found in the Chaco in remote regions where set- 

 tlements Avere few, and was common in the pampas on large estancias, 

 where the birds were given more or less protection. Though for- 

 merly distributed throughout this entire region they have been killed 

 or driven away throughout extensive areas. Occasional screamers 

 were noted from the train in crossing the marshy region in northern 

 Santa Fe on July 5. At the Riacho Pilaga, in the interior of For- 

 mosa, single birds were observed about lagoons from August 10 to 

 21, and on August 16 an adult male Avas taken. Near Puerto Pinasco, 

 Paraguay, they were common from September 6 to 30, and were 

 found in the interior Chaco to the westward as far as I penetrated 

 (to Kilometer 200). One was observed on the Rio Paraguay itself 

 on September 30. 



Screamers ranged usually in pairs, but at times congregated in 

 some numbers. On one occasion I saw 14 in a flock, circling in the 

 air like vultures, 18 gathered in a band at the border of a lagoon and 

 others scattered about near by, until in all I had 40 of the great birds 

 under observation at one time. They were found ordinarily on float- 

 ing masses of vegetation over deep water or in damp meadows where 

 marshy growth was not too luxuriant. When alarmed or suspicious 

 they flew up to perch in the low tops of near-by trees, where they 

 were able to view the country. On alighting on the carnal ote, as the 

 masses of water hyacinth and other vegetation that formed floating 

 mats in the water were called, they frequently extended the wings 

 for a few seconds, until they had tested the footing, but their long 

 toes enabled them to walk over these insecure masses without trouble. 

 The approach of any suspicious object was the occasion of loud 

 trumpeting calls, rather gooselike in nature, that resembled the syl- 

 lables chah hah^ given slowly and with equal emphasis. These calls 

 were loud, so that they carried for long distances, and had a certain 

 stirring quality that was more or less pleasing, but Avere repeated so 

 incessantly that in time they tended to become irritating, particularly 

 when more desirable game was put on the alert by the alarms sounded 

 by these efficient sentinels. These loud calls were often followed by 

 a curious rattling, rumbling sound, audible only for a short distance, 

 that resembled the noise produced by rubbing and compressing a 

 dried, distended bladder. This sound was wholly internal and 

 seemed to be produced when air was forced from the large air sacs 

 into the smaller cells that lie between the skin and the body. At 

 times the forepart of the body was slightly elevated as it was pro- 

 duced. 



