196 DENDROCOLAPTIM:. 



Argentine birds, but, owing to its rarity and to its recluse habits, my 

 knowledge of it is very scanty. It is found in the north and north- 

 western parts of the Argentine territory ; in the province of Buenos 

 Ayres its presence is confined to the narrow strip of subtropical wood 

 fringing the low shores of the Plata river. 



When surprised, its white eye, blue dagger-like beak, and raised crest 

 give it a strikingly bold and angry appearance, the effect of which is 

 heightened by the harsh rasping scream it utters when disturbed. This 

 resentful look is deceptive, however, for the bird is the shiest creature 

 imaginable. Its language has the shrill excited character common to 

 this most loquacious family; and at intervals throughout the day two 

 birds, male and female, meet together and make the woods echo 

 with their screaming concert. For many weeks after I had become 

 familiar with these loud-sounding notes, while collecting in the littoral 

 forest where it is found, the bird was still to me only a " wandering 

 voice " ; but 1 did not give up the pursuit till I had seen it several 

 times and had also secured two or three specimens. I found one nest, 

 though without eggs, a rough-looking domed structure, made with 

 material enough to fill a barrow. I also discovered that the bird feeds 

 exclusively on the ground, close to the boles of low-branching trees, 

 where there is usually an accumulation of fallen bark, dead leaves, and 

 other rubbish. Here the bird digs with its sharp beak for the small 

 insects it preys on. When approached it does not fly away, but runs 

 swiftly to the nearest tree, behind the trunk of which it hides, then 

 scuttles on to the next tree, and so escapes without showing itself. 



Mr. Barrows, who observed the Cachalote at Concepcion, says that 

 it is a bird which cannot be overlooked, with an outrageous disposition 

 and voice, and a nest the size of a barrel. He gives the following 

 account of its nidification : " His nest is built entirely of sticks, and 

 many of them of goodly size, frequently as large round as your little 

 finger and two feet or more long. These are disposed in such a way 

 as to form a structure three or four feet in length by about two in 

 breadth in the widest part, the whole very much resembling a gigantic 

 powder-flask lying on its side among the lower branches of a spreading 

 tree. It is quite loosely built and the nest-cavity is rather indefinite, 

 being any portion of the floor of the nest which the bird selects for 

 the reception of the eggs. These are usually three or four in number, 

 pure white, and are laid from October until January. They can usually 

 be counted through the loose floor of the nest, though sometimes its 

 thickness prevents this." 



