BIRDS OF PREY. -j 



THE CHI MANGO. 



The Chimango (Milvago Chimachimd) is one of the most extensively distributed species of this 



family. The formation of its body is slender, its head large, the wings long and pointed ; in the 



latter the fourth quill exceeds the rest in length. The tail is of moderate size, and slightly rounded ; 



the legs high, slender, and the tarsi sparsely feathered; the toes are long, and armed with very 



sharp hooked talons ; the beak is slender, and terminates in a short hook ; the cere is broad, and 



projects beyond the well-developed nostrils, which are surrounded by a kind of ridge ; the throat is 



but slightly covered with feathers ; the bridles and region of the eyes are bare. Dirty white 



predominates in the plumage of the adult male ; the wings, tail, back, and a streak above the eyes that 



extends to the nape are dark brown ; the four exterior quills are white in the middle, and marked with 



dark spots, thus forming an irregular white line ; the other quills are yellowish white at their origin, 



and streaked with black ; the upper portion being blackish brown. The tail-feathers are white, tipped 



and striped three times with blackish brown. The eye is greyish brown, the beak pale blueish white, 



brightest towards its tip ; the cheek-stripes, cere, eyelids, and a small place round the eye, and the 



chin are orange colour ; the feet are pale blue. But little difference is perceptible in the plumage of 



the male and female. In the young birds the top of the head and cheeks are dark brown, the sides 



and back of the neck yellowish white, spotted with brown ; the back is dark brown, and some of the 



feathers are bordered with red. The wing-covers are striped with two shades of brown, the throat is 



dirty white, the breast blackish brown, each feather being streaked with yellow ; the belly is yellowish. 



The length of this species is fourteen inches and a half, its breadth thirty-one inches; the wing 



measures about ten, and the tail six inches. The female is a trifle larger than her mate. 



The Chimangos inhabit almost the whole of South America, and throughout that continent are 

 met with in great numbers ; pasture lands or large open tracts are their favourite resorts, and, if not 

 molested, they will congregate around and upon the houses of the natives ; Boeck mentions having 

 often seen them perching in crowds on the roofs, or following the ploughman up and down the fields. 

 They rarely frequent mountains, and then only to a limited height; but at times they are casual 

 visitors to the sea-coast. When upon the ground the Chimango moves with dignified ease, and 

 regards all such as approach it with a proud glance of its eye, that would lead us to imagine its 

 intelligence superior to its position in the economy of Nature. Its flight is far from rapid, and it 

 seldom rises high into the air. According to the Prince von Wied, these birds are never seen flying 

 peaceably about in parties, but exhibit on all occasions such a decided love of quarrelling and strife 

 that even a chance meeting between two of them, if strangers to each other, is likely to be followed 

 by a furious battle. No other Birds of Prey will eat such various kinds of food as are ordinarily 

 devoured by the Chimango, to whose voracious appetite it would seem that nothing comes amiss, 

 even down to the merest refuse from the kitchens of the natives ; it much enjoys potatoes, and 

 not only abstracts them from the houses, but will dig them up immediately after it has seen them 

 planted. Of all the hungry crew by which the dead body of a horse or cow is invariably surrounded, 

 this bird is always the last to leave the well-picked bones, and may often be seen, long after the 

 rest have deserted it, running up and down within the skeleton, in the hope of finding an as yet 

 undiscovered morsel ; it eagerly devours worms, lame, snails, reptiles, fishes, birds, and small quad- 

 rupeds, besides a great variety of other articles of food gleaned from the sea-coast. The voice of 

 the Chimango is extremely harsh and shrill. The breeding season commences in September. The 

 eyrie, which is built upon a tree, is a large shallow structure formed of branches, twigs, and roots. 

 The brood consists of five or six very round eggs, of a reddish or light brown-grey colour, marked 

 with irregularly disposed spots of red or brown, which lie closest at the broad end. During the 

 vol. ii. — 47 



