163 



THE AJfEIUCAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



purple mist. To the west rises the 

 stern Andean chain, barren and precip- 

 itous, its top hidden in banks of 

 grayish clouds. 



We made a first camp in the forest 

 below Villa Nougues, at an altitude of 



In spite of the hundreds of thousands of rheas killed for their feath- 

 ers, which are used in making dusters, these great birds are still fairly 

 abundant in Argentina. Their eggs sell in the local markets for about 

 twenty cents apiece, not an exorbitant price for an egg which equals a 

 dozen hen's eggs in size and probably in food value 



four thousand feet. From the very 

 first day we heard a shrill little call 

 which we thought belonged to Scytalo- 

 pus; but the elusive bird always re- 

 mained in concealment among the 

 ferns and mosses, and not once did we 

 get a glimpse of it. 

 Then we moved to the 

 other side of the 

 mountain where, we 

 had been told, hunt- 

 ing was not so diffi- 

 cult. 



Birds Avere not 

 abundant, the fall mi- 

 grations having left 

 the forest almost de- 

 serted. The few spe- 

 cies which remained, 

 liowever, such as wood 

 hewers, thrushes, tan- 

 age rs and jays, were 

 plentiful, and several 

 species of humming 

 birds lent color and 

 life to the somber 

 green of the vegeta- 

 tion. After many 

 days, we succeeded in 

 tracing the mysterious 

 chirp to its source, 

 and found, not the 

 bird we were seeking, 

 but a dainty little 

 wood wren of the shy- 

 est possible nature. 

 The minute, secretive 

 creature seemed to 

 spend its entire time 

 among the buttressed 

 roots and moss-draped 

 undergrowth, where 

 no ray of sunlight 

 ever penetrated to dis- 

 pel the chill and semi- 

 darkness, or give a 

 touch of cheer to the 



