CRESTED SCREAMER 131 



It is partially aquatic in its habits ; and in desert 

 places is usually found in marshes, wading in the 

 shallow water, and occasionally swimming to feed 

 on the seeds and succulent leaves of water-loving 

 plants. After the old giant grasses of the pampas 

 had been eaten up by the cattle, and the sweet grasses 

 of Europe had taken their place, the Screamers took 

 kindly to that new food, preferring the clovers, and 

 seemed as terrestrial in their feeding-habits as Up- 

 land Geese. Their food was abundant, and they 

 were never persecuted by the natives. Their flesh 

 is very dark, is coarse-grained but good to eat, with 

 a flavour resembling that of Wild Duck, and there 

 is a great deal of meat on a bird with a body larger 

 than that of a Swan. Yet no person ever thought 

 of killing or eating the Chaja ; and the birds were 

 permitted to increase to a marvellous extent. It was 

 a common thing a few years ago in the dry season 

 to see them congregated in thousands ; and so little 

 afraid of man were they that I have often ridden 

 through large scattered flocks without making the 

 birds take wing. 



A curious thing about the Screamer is that it pairs 

 for life, and yet is one of the most social of birds. 

 But if a large flock is closely looked at, the birds are 

 invariably seen methodically ranged in pairs. Another 

 curious thing is that, notwithstanding the formidable 

 weapons they possess (each wing being armed with 

 two large spurs), they are extremely pacific in temper. 

 I have never been able to detect even the slightest 

 approach to a quarrel among them ; yet it is hard 



