136 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA 



On November 28, Barckhausen and I camped in the canadon 

 or valley of River Deseado, a swampy, reedy spot, tenanted by 

 great numbers of upland geese, flocks of Chiloe widgeon {Mareca 

 sibilatrix) and brown pintails. I also observed here the rosy- 

 billed duck [Metopiana peposaca), the blue-winged teal {Querque- 

 dula cyanoptera), and what I took to be the red shoveller [Spatula 

 platalea). But this last-named bird I did not shoot, and so I 

 cannot speak with absolute certainty upon the point. Besides 

 these, I saw flamingoes [Pkcenicopterus ignipalliatus) and the 

 black-necked swan [Cygnis nigricollis). A flock of parrots were 

 flying about the heights, but of these I was unable to procure a 

 specimen. The reedy pools and backwaters in this canadon were, 

 without exception, the most glorious paradise of wildfowl that I 

 have ever seen. 



On our way back from the River Deseado I secured the first 

 Rhea darwini shot during the expedition. With the exception of 

 wild cattle, the ostrich is the most difficult to procure of Pata- 

 gonian game. These birds are always on the alert, and generally 

 make off when you are still a mile away. They never pause save 

 upon commanding ground. The most usual method of obtaining 

 them is to run them down with dogs or to tolas, them after the 

 manner of the Indians and Gauchos on horseback. They are 

 indeed a quarry well worthy of the attention of the still-hunter. 

 The male is sometimes killed with a rifle when attending to the 

 chickens, towards whom — with the exception of laying the ego-s — 

 he stands in place of a mother. At such times he will, when 

 approached, pretend to be wounded and limp away with wincrs 

 outspread to attract the hunters after him. An ostrich when shot 

 through the body will always run from thirty to forty yards before 

 dropping. This first ostrich, which I shot, was about four hundred 

 yards away, and I should not have secured him had he not allowed 

 me to get my range with a couple of preliminary shots. Down he 

 went at last, and, immediately afterwards, as I was congratulating 

 myself, appeared an ostrich running low through the grass. I 

 thought it was the one I had shot and struck back for my horse. 

 While I was galloping after the fast- disappearing bird, I rode 

 right on to the first bird, which had been shot through the lungs. 



