Feb. 1827. 



STEAMER-DUCK. 



35 



occasions, he attempted to change the name of the strait to 

 Estrecho de la Madre de Dios ; but it had been too long called 

 Magalhaens, for even the influence of Sarmiento, backed by 

 the power of Philip, to persuade the world to countenance so 

 great an injustice. 



" Magallanes, Sefior, fue el primer hombre 

 Que abriendo este camino le di6 nombre." 



Ercilla Araucana, Cant. I. oct. 8. 



During an excursion with Mr. Tarn to Eagle Bay,* beyond 

 Cape San Isidro, we found many wigwams. They were then 

 novelties to us, and we were ignorant of their being such cer- 

 tain indications of very sheltered places, as subsequent expe- 

 rience has shown them to be. We often used them, after they 

 had been well cleaned out: a boafs sail, thrown over the 

 hemispherical roof, was a sufficient protection from rain ; — and 

 from wind they are always well defended by their situation. 

 Here we saw, for the first time, that most remarkable bird the 

 Steamer-duck. Before steam-boats were in general use, this 

 bird was denominated, from its swiftness in skimming over the 

 surface of the water, the ' race-horse,** a name which occurs 

 frequently in Cook'*s, Byron'^s, and other voyages. It is a 

 gigantic duck, the largest I have met with. It has the lobated 

 hind-toe, legs placed far backwards, and other characteristics 

 of the oceanic ducks.-j- The principal peculiarity of this bird 

 is, the shortness and remarkably small size of the wings, 

 which, not having sufficient power to raise the body, serve only 

 to propel it along, rather than through the water, and are used 

 like the paddles of a steam-vessel. Aided by these and its 

 strong, broad-webbed feet, it moves with astonishing velocity. 



* So named by Bougainville. 



t It belongs to the group which M. Temminck has lately named 

 Hylobates, without attending to the name long since conferred upon it 

 by Dr. Fleming. I designated it Oidemia Fatachonica, from its large 

 dimensions, in my communication upon the Ornithology of the Straits. 

 Zoological Journal, vol. iv. p. 100. On my return to England, 1 found 

 that M. de Freycinet had figured this bird, in the account of his last 

 voyage in I'lJranie, where it is described by Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard 

 under the name of Blicrojiterus brachypterus, 



D g 



