26 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 
in front of or behind ee when the note itself 
is distinctly heard. I know nothing of nest or eggs.” 
From personal observation I can say nothing about 
this species, as I never visited the district where it is 
found; but with the fame of the Crispin I have 
always been familiar, for concerning this Cuckoo the 
Argentine peasants have a very pretty legend. It is 
told that two children of a woodcutter, who lived in 
a lonely spot on the Uruguay, lost themselves in the 
woods—a little boy named Crispin and his sister. 
They subsisted on wild fruit, wandering from place 
to place, and slept at night on a bed of dry grass and 
leaves. One morning the little girl awoke to discover 
that her brother had disappeared from her side. 
She sprang up and ran through the woods to seek 
for him, but never found him; but day after day 
continued wandering in the thickets calling “ Cris- 
pin, Crispin,”’ until at length she was changed into 
a little bird, which still flies through the woods on 
its never-ending quest, following every stranger who 
enters them, calling after him “ Crispin, Crispin” 
if by chance it should be her lost brother. 
The last species is the Chestnut Cuckoo, Piaya 
cayana. This is a widely spread form of Cuckoo in 
Central and South America, and reaches the northern 
territories of the Argentine Republic, having been 
obtained by Durnford near Tucuman, and by White 
in Misiones. The whole bird is about eighteen inches 
long, and the tail very long in proportion, about 
eleven inches. The entire plumage, except the breast 
and belly, which are grey, is chestnut colour. The 
