COMMON RHEA 235 
almost exterminated wherever the nature of the 
country admits of their being chased. When on the 
Rio Negro I was so anxious to obtain specimens of 
this Rhea that I engaged several Indians by the offer 
of a liberal reward to hunt for me, but they failed 
to capture a single adult bird. I can only set down 
here the most interesting facts I was able to collect 
concerning its habits, which are very imperfectly 
known. 
When pursued it frequently attempts to elude the 
sight by suddenly squatting down amongst the 
bushes, which have a grey foliage to which the colour 
of its plumage closely assimilates. When hard pressed 
it possesses the same habit as the Common Rhea of 
raising the wings alternately and holding them up 
vertically: and also doubles suddenly like that 
species. Its speed is greater than that of the Common 
Rhea, but it is sooner exhausted. In running it 
carries its head stretched forward almost horizon- 
tally, which makes it seem lower in stature than the 
allied species—hence the vernacular name of “‘ Short 
Ostrich.”’ It is found in flocks of from three or four 
to thirty or more individuals. It begins to lay at the 
end of July, that is, a month before the Rhea ameri- 
cana. Several females lay in one nest, which is merely 
a slight depression lined with a little dry rubbish ; 
as many as fifty eggs are sometimes found in one 
nest. A great many wasted or huacho eggs, as they 
are called, are also found at a distance from the nest. 
I examined a number of eggs brought in by the 
hunters, and found them vary greatly in shape, size, 
