72 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 
to snatch up the small insects exposed where the 
grass is cropped close. In spring they also follow 
the plough to pick up worms and grubs. 
The song of the male, particularly when making 
love, is accompanied with gestures and actions some- 
what like those of the domestic Pigeon. He swells 
himself out, beating the ground with his wings, and 
uttering a series of deep internal notes, followed by 
others loud and clear ; and occasionally, when utter- 
ing them, he suddenly takes wing and flies directly 
away from the female to a distance of fifty yards, 
and performs a wide circuit about her in the air, 
singing all the time. The homely object of his short- 
lived passion always appears utterly indifferent to 
this curious and pretty performance; yet she must 
be even more impressionable than most female birds, 
since she continues scattering about her parasitical 
and often wasted eggs during four months in every 
year. Her language consists of a long note with a 
spluttering sound, to express alarm or curiosity, and 
she occasionally chatters in a low tone as if trying to 
sing. In the evening, when the birds congregate on 
the trees to roost, they often continue singing in 
concert until it is quite dark; and when disturbed 
at night the males frequently utter their song while 
taking flight. On rainy days, when they are driven 
to the shelter of trees, they will often sing together 
for hours without intermission, the blending of in- 
numerable voices producing a rushing sound as of a 
high wind. At the end of summer they congregate 
in flocks of tens of thousands, so that the ground 
