184 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



succeeding days it was blowing so hard as to render it im- 

 possible to leave the ship. On the forenoon of the 27th, as 

 there was but little wind, we weighed anchor and moved on 

 to Oazy Harbour, some miles to the north-eastward, to join 

 two of the officers who had been despatched thither some 

 days previously. This harbour is land-locked, and its 

 entrance additionally narrowed by a very remarkable long, 

 curved gravel-spit ; but it is, I believe, of little value as an 

 anchorage, except for very small ships, owing to its excessive 

 shallowness, save at one very limited spot. On our arrival, early 

 in the afternoon, two officers, who had preceded us, came on 

 board, bringing with them a specimen of the heron mentioned 

 above as seen at Sandy Point, as well as a beautiful species of 

 goose, quite new to us. This bird, the Chloephaga jpoliocephala, 

 is of considerably smaller size than the upland goose (C. 

 Magellanicd), and its plumage is exceedingly handsome, the 

 wings being finely bronzed, and a broad band of rich chestnut- 

 brown passing across the breast. It appears to be common 

 in the eastern portion of the Strait, where we observed 

 it to be tamer than the upland goose, and we also met with 

 it on several occasions in the Western Channels, where I only 

 once saw a pair of the G. Magellanica. Its flesh is very good, 

 and possesses a more delicate flavour than that of the other 

 species. 



On the 28th it was blowing too hard to permit of any sur- 

 veying work being accomplished until late in the afternoon, 

 when the boats were engaged for an hour in taking sound- 

 ings. The 29th was calm and bright, and four of us landed 

 in the morning, glad to be released from our captivity, and 

 spent the day on shore, _ walking round a considerable portion 

 of the harbour. On the spit at the entrance I noticed many 

 bones of guanacos lying about among the plants of Senecio 



