Bird- life at Durazno. 27 



permission. We saw one flock of ostriches stalking about 

 unconcernedly among the cattle. We were subsequently told 

 that the ostriches in this district were all allowed to run wild, 

 the value of the feathers not repaying the cost of farming. 

 Of deer, the largest indigenous mammal, we saw only one 

 individual, browsing quietly among a herd of cattle. They are 

 allowed to come or go as they please, not being sought after 

 or utilized by the inhabitants. 



On arriving at Durazno we were most hospitably received and 

 entertained by Mr. Ware, the engineer of the railway, under 

 whose guidance we inspected the sights of this dilapidated 

 country town, and then proceeded to explore the banks of the 

 river Yi, a tributary of the Rio Negro, where a great variety 

 of animal life was to be seen. There was here a large lagoon 

 bordered with low bushes, a favourite haunt of the largest 

 living rodent, the capybara or "carpincho," as the natives 

 call it, and also largely stocked with birds. Snipe and dottrel 

 were here so tame as to allow one to approach within a few 

 yards of them. In the course of the day we had the good 

 fortune to meet a Mr. Edye, an Englishman, who, during thirteen 

 years' residence in the Plate, had acquired a considerable insight 

 into the natural history of the country. He told us that a great 

 variety of birds inhabit the low bushes of the " Monte " (as 

 they call the shallow valley of the river), including three species 

 of the cardinal, one humming bird, the calandria or South 

 American nightingale, etc. With reference to the tucutuco 

 {Ctcnomys), he assured us, contrary to the opinion expressed by 

 Dr. Darwin, in his " Journal of a Naturalist," as to the animals 

 never coming to the surface, that the little rodents were commonly 

 to be seen near their holes about the time of dusk, and that 

 they invariably retreated to the burrows on the near approach 

 of a human being. He considered it almost impossible to catch 

 them, but had no doubt about their habit of coming to the 

 surface. As we strolled along the river banks, we saw and 



