114 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



often appear in large numbers, and at such times I 

 have seen them cot^egating by hundreds in the 

 evening beside the water j but in the daytime they 

 scatter over the feeding-ground, where they are seen 

 stalking along, intent on their prey, with majestic 

 crane-like strides. To rise they give three long jumps 

 before committing themselves to the air, and like all 

 heavy fliers make a loud noise with their wings. They 

 are never seen to alight on trees, like the Jabiru, 

 and are absolutely dumb, unless the clattering 

 they make with the bill when angry can be called a 

 language. 



The laying-time is about the middle of August, 

 and the nest is built up amongst the rushes, rising 

 about two feet above the surface of the water. The 

 eggs are rather long, three or four in ntmiber, and 

 of a chalky white. 



Mr. Gibson, of Buenos Ayres, furnishes the follow- 

 ing lively account of a young Maguari : " One, 

 which I took on 5th October, was about the size of a 

 domestic fowl, in down, and, with the exception of 

 the white tail, entirely black. It soon became very 

 tame, and used to wander all over the premises, 

 looking for food, or watching any work that was 

 going on. Rats were swallowed whole ; and the way 

 it would gulp down a pound or two of raw meat 

 would have horrified an English housekeeper. Snakes 

 it seized by the nape of the neck, and passed them 

 transversely through its bill by a succession of rapid 

 and powerful nips, repeating the operation two or 

 three times before being satisfied that life was totally 



