Birds of Uruguay. 203 



might be seen basking on the ground in open spaces or on a 

 rock near the water. The note is double, and (for a love- 

 song) is the saddest I have ever heard a bird utter. It is 

 simply cooo-cooo, the second note lower in tone and sinking 

 in inflection ; the whole sound is uttered rather in the way 

 a tired man sighs out '' heigho ! " 



110. Crax sclateri. Sclater's Curassow. 



The '' Pavo del Moute ^' is still found in small numbers 

 on the Rio Negro. On 14th December I heard the loud 

 reiterated cry of one on the opposite shore of the river, and 

 a few days after had a good view of another in a tree. I 

 was carrying only my small collecting-gun, and while a 

 companion who was carrying a 12-bore was coming up the 

 bird moved, and as we were making our way through some 

 o£ that abominably thorny acacia known as " Unas del 

 gato" it must have slipped away in its usual quiet fashion. 

 In this case the loud cry attracted us in the first instance. 

 I was greatly annoyed at not getting a specimen. From 

 what I saw of this example and from descriptions by people 

 who know the bird w^ell, I think the '' Pavo del Monte " of 

 Uruguay is of this species. Formerly it was more widely 

 difl'used, and I hear that there are still a few in the rincon of 

 the Perdido and Arroyo Grande. 



111. Rallus rhytirhynchus. Black Rail. 



Common and appeared to be resident, frequenting the 

 canadas and rivers which have low banks and some growth 

 of rushes and water-plants. When trees and bushes are 

 present these Rails often perch in them, and the first I shot 

 was in a thick moyd bush into which I saw it fly. While 

 possessing the same nervous temperament as the other 

 species of Rail, it is much less shy than our Water-Rail, 

 which (apart from its bright-coloured blue, green, and red 

 bill) it much resembles in appearance. 



I was never able to find a nest of this bird, although I 

 often felt sure I was close to one. On 9th November, for 

 instance, I found a pair in a very nervous state on a low 

 green bank of the Sauce, backed on the land side by tall 



