c 



THE OOLOGIST 



as follows : One day I went out hunting 

 at Bahia Blanca ; the men rode iu a cres- 

 cent, each being about a quarter of a mile 

 from the other. A fine male Ostrich (Rhea) 

 being turned by the headmost riders tried to 

 escape ou one side. The Guachos pursued 

 at a reckless pace, twisting their horses a- 

 bout with the most admirable command, 

 and each man whirling the balls around his 

 head. At length the foremost threw them 

 revolvin": through the air ; in an instant 

 the Ostrich rolled over, its legs fairly lash- 

 ed together with the thong. 



There is another species called the Pata- 

 gonian Rhea {Ehea Darwini)^ of which 

 little is known, and is smaller than america- 

 na. The bill is shorter than the head, and 

 the tarsi are plumed ibr several inches below 

 the knee ; the wings are more fully feath- 

 ered, plumes broad and bordered by a baud 

 of white. The eggs of this species are bet- 

 ter known than the bird. They are slight- 

 ly smaller than those of the other species, 

 and have a pale blue tint. This bird lays 

 a smaller number of eggs than the Nandou, 

 fifteen being the average. It is also more 

 shy, but its legs being shorter, it is said by 

 the Indians to be more easily caught with 

 the bolas. It takes readily to the water 

 and swims easily ; it does not expand its 

 wings like the Nandou when it starts to 

 run. It is called by the Guachos the Aves- 

 triiz petise, and is rarely seen as far north 

 as the Rio Negro where the other species 

 is found, but is common further south, pre- 

 ferring it is said the plains near the sea. 

 Mr. Darwin, to whom belongs the credit 

 of establishing it as a species, says : When 

 at Port de Desire Mr. Martins shot an Os- 

 trich, and I looked at it for a moment forget- 

 ting iu a most unaccountable manner thepe- 

 h'se, thought it a two-third grown one of the 

 common sort, and the bird was cooked and 

 eateu before my memory returned. For- 

 tunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many 

 of the larger feathers and a large part of 

 the skin were saved ; from these pieces a 

 very good specimen was made, and exhib- 

 ited in the Zoological Society museum of 

 Loudou. He asked a half-breed Indiau 



whom he saw at the Straits of Magellan 

 if he had heard of the Avcstruz pctise, and 

 he replied that there were none others in the 

 southern countries. 



Dobrizhoffer says, in his account of the 

 Abipones (written in 1749), spoke of the 

 Rheas as inhabiting the plains of Buenos 

 Ayres, as larger, and having black and 

 white and gray feathers, while those near 

 the Straits of Magellan are smaller and 

 more beautiful ; their white feathers are 

 tipped with black at the extremities, and 

 the black ones with white in a like manner. 

 The specimen spoken of above, which was 

 taken to Europe by Mr. Darwin, was the 

 first one introduced to science. 



Bird Arrivals. 



BY W. H. BALLOU. 



Evanston^ III. — Blue Birds, Feb'y 27. 

 Robins and Crows, Feb'y 28. Meadow 

 Larks and Grass Finches, March 1, are 

 the first arrivals of the year. The above 

 statement is interesting from the fact that 

 the arrivals of these migratory species are 

 twenty days earlier than those of the same 

 birds quoted last year in the Trihune. It 

 is thought that no earlier arrivals are re- 

 corded as having occurred iu this section. 

 Another fact of importance is that the days 

 of their arrival were of the exact tempera- 

 ture and condition of those of the previous 

 year. They were cloudy, the wind from 

 the south, and the air at intervals came iu 

 almost hot gusts and waves. Impelled by 

 the same migratory "■ spasm," a few spe- 

 cies of Ducks, whose names it is impossi- 

 ble to mention came also. Chicago Trihune. 



Hybrids. — The subject of hybrids is at 

 present so interesting, and the particulars 

 given by different writers are at such vari- 

 ance with each other, that we feel it our 

 duty to publish whatever fresh information 

 we receive that bears connection with it. 

 The following is from Mr. W. H. Collins, 



