1832-3. 



CARRION HAWKS. 



65 



Captain Head with his own pecuUar spirit and accuracy. 

 The Carranchas kill wounded animals ; but Mr. Bynoe saw 

 one seize in the air a live partridge^ which escaped^, and was 

 for some time chased on the ground, i believe this circum- 

 stance is very unusual: at all events there is no doubt that 

 the chief part of their sustenance is derived from carrion. A 

 person will discover the Necrophagous habits of the Carrancha, 

 by walking out on one of the desolate plains^ and there lying- 

 down to sleep. When he awakes^ he will see^ on each sur- 

 rounding hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him 

 with an evil eye. It is a feature in the landscape of these 

 countries, which will be recognised by every one who has 

 wandered over them. If a party goes out hunting with dogs 

 and horses, it will be accompanied, during the day, by 

 several of these attendants. After feeding, the uncovered 

 craw protrudes; at such times, and indeed generally, the 

 Carrancha is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. Its flight 

 is heavy and slow, like that of an English rook. It seldom 

 soars ; but I have twice seen one at a great height gliding 

 through the air with much ease. It runs (in contradistinction 

 to hopping), but not quite so quickly as some of its con- 

 geners. At times the Carrancha is noisy, but is not generally 

 so : its cry is loud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be 

 likened to the sound of the Spanish guttural g, followed by 

 a rough double ?• r. Perhaps the Gauchos, from this cause, 

 have called it Carrancha. Molina, who says it is called 

 Tharu in Chile, states, that when uttering this cry, it elevates 

 its head higher and higher, till at last, with its beak wide 

 open, the crown almost touches the lower part of the back. 

 This fact, which has been doubted, is quite true ; I have seen 

 them several times with their heads backwards in a com- 

 pletely inverted position. The Carrancha builds a large 

 coarse nest, either in a low cliff, or in a bush or lofty tree. 

 To these observations I may add, on the high authority of 

 Azara, that the Carrancha feeds on worms, shells, slugs, 

 grasshoppers, and frogs ; that it destroys young lambs by 

 tearing the umbiHcal cord ; and that it pursues the GallinazOj, 



VOL. III. V 



