120 BAIIIA BI.ANCA. 



aware of their being two kinds of ostriches ; he 

 says : " You must know, moi'eover, that Emus differ 

 in size and habits in different tracts of land ; for 

 those that inhabit the plains of Buenos Ayi'es and 

 Tucuman are larger, and have black, white, and 

 gray feathers ; those near to the Strait of Magellan 

 are smaller and more beautiful, for their white 

 feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, 

 and their black ones, in like manner, terminate in 

 white."* 



A very singular little bird, Tinochorus rumicivo- 

 rus, is here common : in its habits and general ap- 

 pearance it nearly equally partakes of the charac- 

 ters, different as they are, of the quail and snipe. 

 The Tinochorus is found in the whole of southern 

 South America, wherever there are sterile plains, 

 or open, dry pasture land. It frequents in pairs or 

 small flocks the most desolate places, whei'e scarcely 

 another living creature can exist. Upon being ap- 

 proached they squat close, and then are very dif- 

 ficult to be distinguished from the ground. When 

 feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs 

 wide apart. Tiiey dust themselves in roads and 

 sandy places, and frequent particular spots, where 

 they may be found day after day : like partridges, 

 they take wing in a flock. In all these respects, 

 in the muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable food, 

 in the arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short legs 

 and form of foot, the Tinochorus has a close aflfinity 

 with quails. But as soon as the bird is seen flying, 

 its whole appearance changes ; the long pointed 

 wings, so different from those in the gallinaceous 

 order, the irregular manner of flight, and plaintive 

 cry uttered at the inoment of rising, recall the idea 



* Account of the Abipones, A.D. 1749, vol. i. (English transla- 

 tion), p. 314. 



