LAKE REGION OF WESTERN ARGENTINA 417 



tried to fly, and then skimmed the water for a few yards 

 only; the ones we shot were so fat that it is hard to vmder- 

 stand how they could fly at all. Occasionally we saw a 

 giant grebe. From a distance it resembled a loon; they 

 are fast swimmers and expert divers. Om* boatman always 

 begged us to shoot these birds, as the natives are very 

 fond of the flesh and, also, the skin of the breast with its 

 beautiful white, silky feathers, brings a good price in the 

 feather markets. Needless to say, none was shot for this 

 purpose. 



Among the reeds flitted a wonderful little bird, known 

 as the military flycatcher, or "bird of seven colors." It is 

 little larger than a wren, yellow underneath and green above, 

 with the crest and under tail-coverts bright red; there are 

 yellow stripes on the sides of the head and the cheeks are 

 blue; the wings and tail are black. The bird is a sprightly 

 little fellow, flitting and jumping about among the reeds 

 in pursuit of small insects, and uttering its cheerful "cheeps" 

 at frequent intervals; it gives a touch of color and dainty 

 life to the sombre green of the vegetation, and to the re- 

 flections in the murky water below. 



Presently we left the region of the Moras and emerged 

 into the open lake. The surface was dotted with ducks, 

 coots, and grebes — a squawking, diving, racing mass that 

 defies description. We made right for the centre of action. 

 The coots always waited until the boat was but a few yards 

 away and then, after giving a few clucks, started to run 

 and flop across the water, leaving a myriad of silvery, 

 rippling paths in their wake, and making the marsh re^ 

 verberate with the noise. Often this would frighten the 

 ducks, and flocks would jump up all around in such vast 

 numbers that we were lost in admiration watching the won- 

 derful sight of the thousands of swishing, black forms hur- 

 tling into the wintry sky. 



Our method of hunting was to paddle along slowly, 

 squatting low in the boat until within range of a flock of 

 ducks; then, by standing up suddenly, the flock would 



