56 MALDONADO 



one spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. 

 When seen thus suspended in the air, it might very readily at 

 a short distance be mistaken for one of the Rapacious order \ 

 its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and rapidity to that 

 of a hawk. At other times the Saurophagus haunts the neigh- 

 bourhood of ^water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining 

 stationary, it catches any small fish which may come near the 

 margin. These birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages 

 or in courtyards, with their wings cut. They soon become 

 tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd manners^ 

 which were described to me as being similar to those of the 

 common magpie. Their flight is undulatory, for the weight of 

 the head and bill appears too great for the body. In the even- 

 ing the Saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the 

 roadside, and continually repeats without change a shrill and 

 rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate 

 words : the Spaniards say it is like the words " Bien te veo " 

 (I see you well), and accordingly have given it this name. 



A mocking-bird (Mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants 

 Calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior 

 to that of any other bird in the country : indeed, it is nearly 

 the only bird in South America which I have observed to take 

 its stand for the purpose of singing. The song may be com- 

 pared to that of the Sedge warbler, but is more powerful ; some 

 harsh notes and some very high ones being mingled with a 

 pleasant warbling. It is heard only during the spring. At 

 other times its cry is harsh and far from harmonious. Near 

 Maldonado these birds were tame and bold ; they constantly 

 attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the meat which 

 was hung up on the posts or walls : if any other small bird 

 joined the feast, the Calandria soon chased it away. On the 

 wide uninhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied 

 species, O. Patagonica of d'Orbigny, which frequents the valleys 

 clothed with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly 

 different tone of voice. It appears to me a curious circum- 

 stance, as showing the fine shades of difference in habits, that 

 judging from this latter respect alone, when I first saw this 

 second species, I thought it was different from the Maldonado 

 kind. Having afterwards procured a specimen, and comparing 

 the two without particular care, they appeared so very similar. 



