40 Mr. H. Durnford on some Birds observed 



as Proyne imrpurea, both birds anxiously circling and scream- 

 ing over my head when their nests were threatened, in ra- 

 pidity of flight it almost rivalled that bird, and, if not quite 

 so quick in turning, in a fair straight race it would certainly 

 not be behind the Swallow. To the colonists it is no friend, 

 as it often carries oft' their young chickens. 



MiLVAGO CHIMANGO. 



Very common, nesting on the tufts of pampa- grass. I fre- 

 quently observed this species in flocks. 



POLYBORUS VULGARIS. 



Very common, nesting, like Buteo erythronotus , on the 

 highest bushes, but making a much smaller nest than that 

 bird. Fish-bones, cowhide, straw, and a piece of string were 

 in the bottom of one nest I examined, whilst another had 

 much the same miscellaneous collection. 



Sarcorhamphus grypuus. 



A pair observed on the 15th November at Ninfas Point, 

 the female of which I shot : its stomach was well filled with 

 Guanaco- and Seal-flesh ; and the stench from the bird was 

 almost intolerable. The male was considerably the larger of the 

 two, and the white frill round the lower part of its neck much 

 broader than in the other sex. This bird is occasionally seen 

 in the upper part of the valley ; and when the colonists are 

 hunting in the neighbourhood of the sea-coast, it is always 

 the first of the numerous bird-scavengers to make its appear- 

 ance after game has been killed ; more than one of these men 

 told me it was their firm conviction that it was attracted to the 

 spot by scent, and not by sight, being rarely seen when 

 nothing was killed. 



Phalacrocorax brasilianus. 



Common about the mouth of the river, and occasionally 

 seen up the valley some distance from the sea. 



Nycticorax obscurus. 



Not uncommon, during the day resting on the banks of 

 the river under the shelter of the overhanging willows, and 



