58 MALDONADO. [chap. in. 



together (in this respect resembling the Carranchas) wait at the 

 mouth of a rabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when 

 it comes out. They were constantly flying on board the vessel 

 when in the harbour ; and it was necessary to keep a good look 

 out to prevent the leather being torn from the rigging, and the 

 meat or game from the stern. These birds are very mischievous 

 and inquisitive ; they will pick up almost any thing from the 

 ground ; a large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as 

 was a pair of the heavy balls used in c<itching cattle. Mr. 

 Usborne experienced during the survey a more severe loss, in 

 their stealing a small Kater's compass in a red morocco leather 

 case, which was never recovered. These birds are, moreover, 

 quarrelsome and very passionate ; tearing up the grass with their 

 bills from rage. They are not truly gregarious ; they do not 

 soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy ; on the ground they 

 run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. They are noisy, 

 uttering several harsh cries ; one of which is like that of the 

 English rook ; hence the sealers always call them rooks. It is 

 a curious circumstance that, when crying out, they thro\\' their 

 heads upwards and backwards, after the same manner as the 

 Carrancha. They build in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but 

 only on the small adjoining islets, and not on the two main 

 islands : this is a singular precaution in so tame and fearless a 

 bird. The sealers say that the flesh of these birds, when cooked, 

 is quite white, and very good eating ; but bold must the man be 

 who attempts such a meal. 



We have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (Vultur 

 aura), and the Gallinazo. The former is found wherever the 

 country is moderately damp, from Cape Horn to North America. 

 Differently from the Polyborus Brasiliensis and Chimango, it 

 has found its way to the Falkland Islands. The turkey-buzzard 

 is a solitary bird, or at most goes in pairs. It may at once be 

 recognised from a long distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most 

 elegant flight. It is well known to be a true carrion-feeder. 

 On the west coast of Patagonia, among the thickly- wooded islets 

 and broken land, it lives exclusively on what the sea throws up, 

 and on the carcasses of dead seals. Wherever these animals 

 are congregated on the rocks, there the vultures may be seen. 

 The Gallinazo (Cathartes atratus) has a different range from 



