16 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



it is not yet quite in harmony with its environment* 

 Everywhere its habit is to feed exclusively on the 

 ground, in spite of possessing feet formed for climb- 

 ing ; but its very scanty plumage, slow laborious 

 flight, and long square tail, so unsuitable in cold 

 boisterous weather, show that the species is a still 

 unmodified intruder from the region of perpetual 

 summer many degrees nearer to the equator. 



The Guira Cuckoo is about sixteen inches long, 

 has red eyes and blue feet, and an orange-red beak. 

 The crown of the head is deep rufous, and the loose 

 hair-like feathers are lengthened into a pointed crest. 

 The back and rump are white, the wings and other 

 upper parts very deep fuscous, marked with white 

 and pale brown. Under surface dull white, with 

 hair-like black marks on the throat and breast. The 

 tail is square, nine to ten inches long ; the two middle 

 feathers dark brown, the others three-coloured 

 yellow at the base, the middle portion dark glossy 

 green, the ends white ; and when the bird is flying 

 the tail, spread out like a fan, forms a conspicuous 

 and beautiful object. 



During the inclement winter of Buenos Ayres the 

 Guira Cuckoo is a miserable bird, and appears to 

 suffer more than any other creature from cold. In 

 the evening the flock, usually composed of from a 

 dozen to twenty individuals, gathers on the thick 

 horizontal branch of a tree sheltered from the wind, 

 the birds crowding close together for warmth, and 

 some of them roosting perched on the backs of their 

 fellows. I have frequently seen them roosting three 



