ACOIPITRES 



Family FALCONIDiE 

 POLYBORUS THARUS (Molina) 



Le Busard dU Bresil, BHsson, Omithohgie, i, p. 705, 1760. 

 FalcO thams, MoUna, Saggio Storia Naturale, Chili, p. 264, 1782. 

 Caracara, Azara, Pdxaros, Paraguay y La Plata, i, p. 42, 1802. 

 PolyborUS vulgaris, Vieillot et Oudart, Galerie Oiseaux, i, p. 23, 



pi. vii, 1825; B'Orhigny, Voy. AmSr. Merid., Ois., p. 55, 1835. 

 PolyboruS brasiliensiS, Gould and Banoin, Voy. " Beagle,'" Birds, 



p. 9, 1841. 

 PolyborUS tharUS, Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., i, p. 31, 1874 ; 



Durnford, Ibis, p. 161, 1876, p. 188, 1877 ; Sclater and Hxidson, Argentine 



Orn., ii, p. 81, 1889 ; Oustalet, Miss. Sci. Cap Horn, Ois., p. 9, 1891 ; Oates, 



Gat. Birds' Eggs Brit. Mus., ii, p. 232, 1902. 



Halitat. — Brazil and Peru, to Cape Horn. 



Eggs, Sara Settlement, lOth Oct. ; ? , Cheena Creek Settlement, 

 14th Nov., 1904. 



Iris — light brown j bill — bluish white, nostrils — pink shading into 

 yellow; legs — yellow. 



As a conspicuous personality amongst the birds of the 

 land, the Carancho perhaps stands at the head of all, not it is 

 true as an object of grace or beauty, nor as anything beloved of 

 man or of the animal creation at large, but as a sinister reminder 

 of the dark side of life. 



Thus a feature of the landscape, it is depicted by Cook's artist 

 in his quaint drawing of Christmas Sound in 1774, a figure 

 in miniature perching on the rocks. 



By D'Orbigny it is said to be " sans nul doute, le plus bruyant 

 et le plus effront^ de tons les oiseaux de proie d'Amerique." 



The Carancho is common, yet hardly plentiful. Pairs or 

 single birds are seen hanging about a place with ominous 



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