The Desert Pampas. 25 
ground shows a very extended front—a representa- 
tion in bird-life of the “ thin red line ””—and advances 
by the hindmost birds constantly flying over the 
others and alighting in the front ranks. 
Among the tyrant-birds are several species of the 
beautiful wing-banded genus, snow-white in colour. 
with black on the wings and tail: these are extreme- 
ly graceful birds, and strong flyers, and in desert 
places, where man seldom intrudes, they gather to 
follow the traveller, calling to each other with low 
whistling notes, and in the distance look like white 
flowers as they perch on the topmost stems of the 
tall bending grasses. 
The most characteristic pampean birds are the 
tinamous—called partridges in the vernacular— 
the rufous tinamou, large as a fowl, and the 
spotted tinamou, which is about the size of the 
English partridge. Their habits are identical : both 
lay eges of a beautiful wine-purple colour, and in 
both species the young acquire the adult plumage 
and power of flight when very small, and fly better 
than the adults. They have small heads, slender 
curved beaks, unfeathered legs and feet, and are 
tailless; the plumage is deep yellowish, marked 
with black and brown above. They live concealed, 
skulking like rails through the tall grass, fly reluc- 
tantly, and when driven up, their flight is exceed- 
ingly noisy and violent, the bird soon exhausting it- 
self. They are solitary, but many live in proximity, 
frequently calling to each other with soft plaintive 
voices. The evening call-notes of the larger bird 
are flute-like in character, and singularly sweet and 
expressive. 
