184 IDLE DAYS IN PATAGONIA 



butterflies mimicking the brilliant " warning col- 

 ors ' ' of other species on which birds do not prey. 

 Cats amongst mammals, and owls amongst birds, 

 have been most highly favored ; but to the owls the 

 palm must be given. The feline eyes, as of a puma 

 or wild cat, blazing with wrath, are wonderful to 

 see ; sometimes the sight of them affects one like an 

 electric shock ; but for intense brilliance and quick 

 changes, the dark orbs kindling with the startling 

 suddenness of a cloud illumined by flashes of light- 

 ning, the yellow globes of the owl are unparalleled. 

 Some readers might think my language exagger- 

 ated. Descriptions of bright sunsets and of 

 storms with thunder and lightning would, no 

 doubt, sound extravagant to one who had never 

 witnessed these phenomena. Those only who 

 spend years "conversing with wild animals in 

 desert places," to quote Azara's words, know that, 

 as with the atmosphere, so with animal life, there 

 are special moments ; and that a creature present- 

 ing a very sorry appearance dead in a museum, 

 or living in captivity, may, when hard pressed 

 and fighting for life in its own fastness, be sub- 

 limed by its fury into a weird and terrible ob- 

 ject. 



Nature has many surprises for those who wait 

 on her; one of the greatest she ever favored me 

 with was the sight of a wounded Magellanic eagle- 

 owl I shot in Patagonia. The haunt of this bird 

 was an island in the river, overgrown with giant 

 grasses and tall willows, leafless now, for it was 



