490 Letters, Announcements, <^c. 



series, with almost mathematical precision, about a foot of space 

 intervening between each nest ; and the greater number of them 

 contained eggs, varying from one to three. These, of which I 

 shall send home specimens, were of a greenish-white colour, with 

 a rough surface, and about the size of a hen's egg. I obtained 

 a pretty good specimen of one of the birds , Numerous Sterna 

 and other Gulls were flying about, giving vent to their dis- 

 cordant cries ; and I met with several of their nests. I also saw 

 three specimens of Chionis, but did not get any on this occa- 

 sion. I noticed that those Cormorants that were perched on 

 ledges on the cliff's had nests' constructed of sea-weed, and tbat 

 none of these contained eggs ; so I suppose the cliff's are merely 

 employed as resting-places. 



I was on shore at Gregory Bay on the 12th of December. It 

 was a bright sunny morning; and as I walked over the ground 

 tunnelled with the burrows of the Ctenomys, every now and then 

 I heard the very peculiar cry of the animal, and had a mo- 

 mentary glance at a furry head and shoulders thrust out of a 

 hole for an instant. I noticed several specimens of the largest 

 of the Owls I sent home last year perched on the Barberry- 

 bushes, apparently on the look-out for prey ; and they were in 

 general very bold, sitting still and barking at me till I came 

 within six or seven yards, and then flying off" to a short distance. 

 I also observed several Geese with their goslings; and on one 

 occasion the parent birds ran off", dragging their wings as if hurt, 

 and hid themselves in the long grass, amongst which I could 

 see their heads thrust up at intervals watching my progress. 

 One of the officers who was on shore was fortunate enough to 

 shoot a beautiful Duck, diff'erent from any of those I sent home 

 last year; and one or two examples of the Spur-winged Lapwing 

 ( Vanellus cayanus) were obtained, also a curious little bird co- 

 loured like a Quail or Sand-grouse (I think a Thinocorus) . 

 After this I had very few opportunities of getting on shore for 

 a long time, as we had almost constantly windy weather, and 

 were lying far out from the shore. On the 22nd we went up 

 the Patagonian shore to the Gallegas River, and I spent a day 

 and night on shore there, but, with the exception of the Swan 

 I have already mentioned, did not obtain anything of any im- 



