1SS4.I Barrows on /iirds of the Lo-vcr Unti^niay. •Jio 



usually pulling clown the swiftest birds within two miles at far- 

 thest. The Indians use the bolas with much skill, the one used 

 for Ostriches consisting of two half-pound leaden balls connected 

 by eight feet of twisted rawhide twine. Whirling this about the 

 head and 'letting fly' at the running bird they often entangle his 

 legs at a distance of thirty to fifty yards, and I was told that it was 

 frequently done at one hundred. 



Single hunters stalk Ostriches sometimes in the following way : 

 Getting to windward of the bird the latter soon scents him and 

 lies down, only sticking up his head above the grass. The hunt- 

 er may then creep directly up within shot if the grass be long 

 enough to shelter him, and the bird is shot through neck or head 

 before he rises. So many stories have been told of the breeding 

 habits of these birds that I could probably add nothing of value 

 myself, so I append the following, which was told me by a young 

 man who was born and brought up among Ostriches. When an 

 Ostrich has built a nest and laid the full number of eggs, she is 

 naturally anxious to be able to find the nest again after having 

 wandered away to any distance. This she manages by simply 

 laying eggs at intervals of half-a-mile or so over the adjacent 

 country, placing each Q^'g with its smaller end pointing directly 

 toward the nest ! 



Before closing this paper I wish to re^^urn my grateful acknowl- 

 edgements to Mr. J. A. Allen and to Dr. Hermann Burmeister of 

 Buenos Aires, for the determination of most of the species herein 

 described, and for much invaluable assistance of every kind. My 

 thanks are also due to Mr. Geo. N. Lawrence for similar services. 

 I take this opportunity also of returning thanks to Dr. P. G. 

 Lorentz of Concepcion for indispensable aid in the collection of 

 notes and specimens from the pampas, and to Professors Seekamp, 

 Ali6, and Dr. Qriesada, of the Colegio Nacional at Concepcion, 

 for many specimens and much information on the species of that 

 region. 



MiDDLETOWN, CoNN., 



May, 1884. 



