64 



behind this congregation on foot without disturbing them 

 I came to a sandy part of the narrow beach overgrown 

 with enormous trees and on one of them sat a number of 

 Brown Vultures {Cathartes aura). 



Some fifty yards further on, also on the overhanging 

 trunk of a dead tree which was beautifully overgrown 

 with mosses and ferns, sat the most beautiful Camcara 

 {Polyh. hrasiliensis) male that I have ever seen. The breast 

 was of a brilliant péarlgrey and the black lines beautifully 

 conspicuous. 



I at first wondered what all these carrion birds were 

 doing in this one spot, but I soon found out the reason. 

 Not far away an enormous Sepia or Cuttlefish had stranded 

 and the carrion birds were evidently waiting till discom- 

 position had softened the tough leathery flesh. 



I measured this Cuttlefish and found that the body 

 measured over three feet in length. 



It had a beautiful sharp horny parrot-bill which I cut 

 out and took away with me. 



After having gone along the beach for a little while I 

 tried to enter the forest which was mostly composed of 

 fine old beeches mixed with many of the beautiful things, 

 which I had seen more to the north in Chili. 



I could not penetrate far however, hardly 50 yards, 

 so full was the forest of rotten tree-trunks some of them 

 overrun with creepers and which made a perfectly impe- 

 netrable tangle. On these old trunks grew beautiful Ferns 

 and Mosses and a good many Fungi. 



Whilst I was sitting on one of those fallen trunks admi- 

 ring the surrounding trees and shrubs including Fuchsias, 

 two inquisitive birds came up to me coming quite close, 

 now on this side and now on the other, sometimes even 

 passing under my legs. They were a pair of the Red- 

 breasted Robin {Pteroptodms rubecula), the bird that gene- 

 rally laughs at the intruder and disappears. 



These birds who had perhaps never seen a man were 

 determined to have a good view of so strange a creature 

 and talking to each other in a low voice and jerking 



Notes froin the Leyden Museum, Vol. XXXV. 



