BIRDS. 



125 



been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the Zoological 

 Society. M. A. D'Orbigny, a distinguished French naturalist, when at the Rio 

 Negro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but had not the good fortune to 

 succeed. He mentions it in his Travels (vol. ii. p. 76.) and proposes (in case, I 

 presume, of his obtaining a specimen at some future time, and thus being able to 

 characterize it,) to call it Rheapennata. A notice of this species was given long 

 since (A.D. 1749) by Dobrizhoffer, in his account of the Abipones (vol. i. Eng. 

 Trans, p. 314). He says, " You must know, moreover, that Emus differ in size 

 and habits in different tracts of land; for those that inhabit the plains of Buenos 

 Ayres and Tucuman are larger, and have black, white, and grey feathers ; those 

 near to the Strait of Magellan are smaller, and more beautiful, for their white 

 feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones in like 

 manner terminate in white." 



Among the Patagonian Indians in the Strait of Magellan, we found a half- 

 bred Indian, who had lived some years with this tribe, but had been born in the 

 northern provinces. I asked him if he had ever heard of the Avestruz Petise ? He 

 answered by saying, "Why there are none others in these southern countries." 

 He informed me that the number of eggs in the nest of the Petise is considerably 

 less than with the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on an average ; but 

 he asserted that more than one female deposited them. At Santa Cruz we saw 

 several of these birds. They were excessively wary : I think they could see a 

 person approaching, when he was so far off as not to distinguish the ostrich. In 

 ascending the river few were seen ; but in our quiet and rapid descent, many, in 

 pairs and by fours or fives, were observed. It was remarked by some of the 

 officers, and I think with truth, that this bird did not expand its wings, when first 

 starting at full speed, after the manner of the northern kind. The fact of these 

 ostriches swimming across the river has been mentioned. In conclusion, I may 

 repeat that the R. Americana inhabits the eastern plains of S. America as far as 

 a little south of the Rio Negro, in lat. 41°, and that the R. Darwinii takes its 

 place in Southern Patagonia ; the part about the Rio Negro being neutral territory. 

 Wallis saw ostriches at Bachelor's river (lat 53° 54'), in the Strait of Magellan, 

 which must be the extreme southern possible range of the Petise. 



Order -GRALLATORES. 



Oreophilus totanirostris. Jard. <§' Selb. 



Oreophilus totanirostris, Jard. $ Selb. Illustr. of Orn. iii. pi. 151. 



My specimens were obtained at Maldonado and at Valparaiso. At the 

 former, it was common, feeding on the open grassy plains in small flocks, 

 mingled with the icteri and the thrush-like Xolmis variegata. When these birds 



