THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 127 



military starling {Sturnella militaris), a beautiful bird, with 

 a bright red breast, widely distributed over South America, 

 and generally occurring in open plains, where it is to be seen 

 in small flocks. It is common both in the eastern part of 

 the Strait and at the Falkland Islands, and I also observed 

 it in Banda Oriental and Chili. Another bird procured on 

 this occasion was the Upocerthia dumetoria, which also 

 possesses a wide range, frequenting much the same localities 

 as the military starling, and concerning which Mr. Darwin 

 has made a curious observation — namely, that in specimens 

 from different localities the beak varies much in length, a 

 circumstance which has also been remarked in specimens of 

 another bird, to be afterwards noticed, the Ciiiclodes Pata- 

 gonicus, which also has an extended range. 



On the following day, which was Sunday, we remained 

 at rest at our anchorage. There was a very fine sunset, the 

 most marvellous red and green tints lingering long on the 

 horizon. A little rain fell in the course of the evening, a 

 comparatively rare phenomenon, as our subsequent expe- 

 rience showed, in the eastern part of the Strait, where fre- 

 quent gales constituted the great obstacle to be encountered 

 in carrying on our work. 



The morning of the 14th was magnificent — clear, bright, 

 and perfectly calm. The day was occupied in sounding the 

 Sarmiento Bank, which stretches across outside the entrance 

 of the Strait. Early in the afternoon, while at work in my 

 cabin, I was summoned to see the extraordinary number of 

 birds around us, and, on ascending to the bridge, I beheld a 

 most remarkable spectacle. As we steamed slowly onwards, 

 numbers of albatrosses and large black petrels rose lazily out of 

 the briny element, where they were resting at only the dis- 

 tance of a few feet from the side of the vessel ; and flocks of 



