1832-3.] THE CALANDRIA. 65 



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 appear 

 too great for the body. In the evening the Saurophagus 

 takes its stand on a bush, often by the roadside, and con- 

 tinually repeats without change a shrill and rather agree- 

 able 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 {Minus 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 compared 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. Pata- 

 gonica 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 cir- 

 cumstance, 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 that I changed my opinion ; 

 but now Mr. Gould says that they are certainly distinct ; a 

 conclusion in conformity with the trifling difference of habit, 

 of which, however, he was not aware. 



The number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the 

 carrion-feeding hawks of South America make them pre- 

 eminently striking to any one accustomed only to the birds 

 of Northern Europe. In this list may be included four 

 species of the Caracara or Polyborus, tne Turkey buzzard, 

 the Gallinazo, and the Condor. The Caracaras are, from 

 their structure, placed among the eagles ; we shall soon see 

 how ill they become so high a rank. In their habits they 



