26 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



in front of or behind you even when the note itself 

 is distinctly heard. I know nothing of nest or eggs/' 



From personal observation I can say nothing about 

 this species, as I never visited the district where it is 

 found ; but with the fame of the Crispin I have 

 always been familiar, for concerning this Cuckoo the 

 Argentine peasants have a very pretty legend. It is 

 told that two children of a woodcutter, who lived in 

 a lonely spot on the Uruguay, lost themselves in the 

 woods a little boy named Crispin and his sister* 

 They subsisted on wild fruit, wandering from place 

 to place, and slept at night on a bed of dry grass and 

 leaves* One morning the little girl awoke to discover 

 that her brother had disappeared from her side. 

 She sprang up and ran through the woods to seek 

 for him, but never found him; but day after day 

 continued wandering in the thickets calling " Cris- 

 pin, Crispin" until at length she was changed into 

 a little bird, which still flies through the woods on 

 its never-ending quest, following every stranger who 

 enters them, calling after him " Crispin, Crispin " 

 if by chance it should be her lost brother* 



The last species is the Chestnut Cuckoo, Piaya 

 cayana. This is a widely spread form of Cuckoo in 

 Central and South America, and reaches the northern 

 territories of the Argentine Republic, having been 

 obtained by Durnford near Tucuman, and by White 

 in Misiones* The whole bird is about eighteen inches 

 long, and the tail very long in proportion, about 

 eleven inches* The entire plumage, except the breast 

 and belly, which are grey, is chestnut colour* The 



