174 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 
down, and mounts verticallyg@o a considerable height. 
He flies high, the wings curved upward and violently 
flapped at irregular intervals; descending he drops 
suddenly to the earth, the wings motionless, pointing 
up, and the body swaying from side to side, so that 
the bird presents the appearance of a falling para- 
chute. On smooth ground he walks faster than a 
man, striking out his feet in a stately manner and 
jerking the tail, and runs rapidly ten or twelve yards 
before rising. At the approach of night he becomes 
active, uttering long, clear, piercing cries many times 
repeated, and heard distinctly two miles away. These 
cries are most melancholy, and together with its 
mourning plumage and recluse habits have won for 
the Courlan some pretty vernacular names. He is 
called the “ Lamenting Bird” and the “ Crazy 
Widow,” but is more familiarly known as the 
Carau. 
Near sunset the Caraus leave the reed-beds and 
begin to ascend the streams to visit their favourite 
fishing-grounds. They are very active at night, 
retiring again at the approach of morning, and 
sometimes pass the day perched on trees, but 
more frequently concealed in dense rush-beds. 
As the breeding-season draws near they become 
exceedingly clamorous, making the marshes resound 
day and night with their long, wailing cries. The nest 
is built among the rushes, and contains ten or twelve 
eggs big asa Turkey’s eggs, and very large for the size 
of the bird, slightly elliptical, sparsely marked with 
blotches of pale brown and purple on a dull white 
