Memories nf a 'I' rip in Arueiil inn . 27'.t 



tiiia," ;iii(l crrtaiii vols, of H.M. Cat., at tlif Z()ol().--ical Society's 

 Lil)rary. 



At one of tlu' ports on the way to l-.uciios Ayi'i's, a man 

 broiiylit oil lioard a tame ('o\v-I)ir(l and a IJangru^st; lu* askr-d 

 alK)ul £2 cai'li for theiii! I think he sold the Cow-bird. At 

 Buenos Ayrcs I went to the Zoo, and in a very large lliglit 

 saw Virginian Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), Pope {I'aro- 

 aria larvata), and Red-crested (/'. rticallata); also a bird 

 similar to an English Thrush, Cow-l)irds, etc. In another 

 large aviary there were some very line \'ultuies and other 

 birds of prey. 



I went a twenty -four hours journey I)y train north 

 of B.A. to Santos, Province of Santa Fe. The most notice- 

 able birds are the Little (Burrowing) Owls {Speotyio cut/iei'- 

 laria), that are out all day, sitting on posts; they never lake 

 their eyes off you, flying up into the air and down again to the 

 same perch, uttering their cry; they sit also at the top of theii- 

 holes, as they nest in the ground. The other is theCTarancho, a 

 species of Vulture, but it is a handsome bird without a Imre neck; 

 it is a useful scavenger, and can scent or see a dead animal 

 miles away. Then there is the Oven Bird {Funariiis nifu.^). ra- 

 ther like a Thrush, only smaller, and more ruddy in colour; 

 they build their curious oven -nests of mud, on posts or branches 

 of trees. They arc very cheerful birds, and when they meet 

 after being separated from each other they put their bills up in 

 the air, side by side, and scream. They have most peculiar 

 notes, somewhat like a Curlew's call. Riding through the Cximp 

 one notices Scissor -birds, "Widow" birds, which are pure 

 white and have a little black on their wings, and people say 

 they cannot be kept in cages, Jay-Thrushes, Flamingos. Ibises; 

 and Storks in the swamps, Woodpeckers, which are all called 

 " Carpentarias," a few Green Parrakeets, and once I saw some 

 Passerine Parrakeets {Psittacula passerina). There were other 

 birds that looked as if they belonged to the Shrikie- tribe. 

 A.11 the Peons have an Amazon Parrot hung up outside their 

 mud huts, and occasionally one sees a tame Cow-bird: these 

 birds sing very well and when really tame can lly loo e round 

 a house like a tame Jackdaw in England. One sees lai-ge 

 Hocks of these flying aljout and wonders why the natives 

 want so much for their tame birds (about £2). In the north 



