124 BIRDS OF TIERT^A DEL FUEGO 



tame, thoug'li aggressive to man. No bird is more conspicuous 

 or numerous on the open flats, Geese excepted. Everywhere the 

 plaintive " /*/-?//" is audible, shrill and ear-piercing at close 

 quarters, silvery and soft in the distance. 



As one rides or walks, these birds continually fly at one, 

 coming away from the ground in time only to clear one's head 

 with a whiz of their massive wings and an ear-piercing " Pi-yi^' 

 making one almost raise one's hand in defence against the 

 formidable scarlet bill. After tilting at one in this fashion, they 

 circle round, descend, and skimming the ground, come at one 

 again as before from in front. On the ground, they often assume 

 a curious posture — back to the wind, neck stretched out, tail 

 blown over the head. 



Inland they feed mainly on large white larvae, which they 

 find in the ground. 



These Oyster-catchers breed freely on the open grass flats. 

 Several times I have come on their nests, placed in the slightly 

 raised hillocks — which cover the ground and make walking so 

 difficult in these regions — with fragments of ^gg shells, but never 

 any eggs entire. 



In the Falkland Islands, Capt. Abbott found this bird 

 common along the sea coast, laying its eggs in the beginning 

 of October, sometimes on the sea shore, but more frequently 

 a little way inland, on a dry, sandy soil. 



At San Sebastian Settlement, at the end of October, I was 

 given a remarkable pair of eggs by Mr. Merton. They are very 

 blunt ovals ; almost olive, finely and evenly marked with black 

 spots and blotches over the entire surface ; they measure 2*05 

 by 1*65 and 2 by 1*65 inches. They do not exactly resemble 

 any one of the series in the British Museum : the latter are 

 mostly longer in the axis, not one is as broad, and not one 

 exactly corresponds in colour. 



The Ona name is " SeitT 



