MARTINETA aag 



violent^ is not so sounding as that of the Rufous 

 Tinamu, and differs remarkably in another respect. 

 Every twenty or thirty yards the wings cease beating 

 and remain motionless for a second, when the bird 

 renews the effort ; thus the flight is a series of rushes 

 rather than a continuous rush like that of the other 

 species. It is also accompanied with a soft wailing 

 note, which appears to die away and swell again as 

 the flapping of the wings is renewed. 



The call-note of the Martineta is never heard in 

 winter ; but in the month of September they begin 

 to utter in the evening a long, plaintive, slightly 

 modulated whistle, the birds sitting concealed and 

 answering each other from bush to bush. As the 

 season advances the coveys break up, and their call 

 is then heard on every side, and often all day long, 

 from dawn until after dark. The call varies greatly 

 in different birds, from a single whistle to a per- 

 formance of five or six notes, resembling that of 

 the great Partridge, but inferior in compass and 

 sweetness. They begin to breed in October, making 

 the nest at the roots of a small isolated bush. The 

 eggs vary in number from twelve to sixteen j they 

 are elliptical in form, of a beautiful deep green in 

 colour, and have highly polished shells. 



It is probable, I think, that this species possesses 

 some curious procreant habits, and that more than 

 one female lays in each nest ; but owing to the 

 excessive wariness of the bird in a state of nature it 

 is next to impossible to And out anything about it. 

 No doubt the day will come when naturalists will 



