90 BAHIA BLAXCA. [CHAP. v. 



at work. It is rather curious to find how incapable these birds 

 must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although they 

 were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued vainly 

 to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their nests. 

 I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to daylight on 

 the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the marvellous fact. 



I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in 

 this country. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the 

 Dasypus minutus or pichy, the D. villosus or pelitdo, and the apar. 

 The first extends ten degrees further south than any other kind : 

 a fourth species, the Mulita, does not come as far south as Bahia 

 Blanca. The four species have nearly similar habits ; the peludo, 

 however, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day over the 

 open plains, feeding on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes. 

 The apar, commonly called mataco, is remarkable by having only 

 three moveable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering being 

 nearly inflexible. It has the power of rolling itself into a perfect 

 sphere, like one kind of English woodlouse. In this state it is safe 

 from the attack of dogs ; for the dog not being able to take the 

 whole in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball slips away. 

 The smooth hard covering of the mataco offers a better defence 

 than tbe sharp spines of the hedgehog. The pichy prefers a very 

 dry soil; and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many 

 months it can never taste water, is its favourite resort : it often 

 tries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. In the 

 course of a day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were generally 

 met with. The instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order 

 to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse ; for in soft soil the 

 animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would almost 

 disappear before one could alight. It seems almost a pity to kill 

 such nice little animals, for as a Gaucho said, while sharpening 

 his knife on the back of one, " Son tan mansos " (they are so quiet). 



Of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus, 

 or Cophias *), from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must 

 be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, 

 makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate 

 between it and the viper. In confirmation of this opinion, I 

 observed a fact, which appears to me very curious and instructive, 

 as showing how every character, even though it may be in some 

 * M. Bibron calls it T. crepitans. 



