108 



BAHIA BLANCA. 



Aug. 1833. 



of incubation ? It is evident that there must at first be some 

 degree of association, between at least two females ; other- 

 wise the eggs would remain scattered over the wide plains, at 

 distances far too great to allow of the male collecting them 

 into one nest. Some have believed that the scattered eggs 

 were deposited for the young birds to feed on. This can 

 hardly be the case in America, because the huachos, although 

 oftentimes found addled and putrid, are generally whole. 



When at the Rio Negro, in Northern Patagonia, I re- 

 peatedly heard the Gauchos talking of a very rare bird which 

 they called Avestruz Petise. They described it as being less 

 than the common ostrich (which is there abundant), but 

 with a very close general resemblance. They said its colour 

 was dark and mottled, and that its legs were shorter, and 

 feathered lower down than those of the common ostrich. It 

 is more easily caught by the bolas than the other species. 

 The few inhabitants who had seen both kinds, affirmed they 

 could distinguish them apart from a long distance. The eggs 

 of the small species appeared, however, more generally 

 known ; and it was remarked, with surprise, that they were 

 very little less than those of the Rhea, but of a slightly dif- 

 ferent form, and with a tinge of pale blue. Some eggs, 

 picked up on the plains of Patagonia, agree pretty well with 

 this description, and I do not doubt are those of the Petise. 

 This species occurs most rarely on the plains bordering the 

 Rio Negro ; but about a degree and a half further south they 

 are tolerably abundant. One Gaucho, however, said he dis- 

 tinctly recollected having seen one, many years before, near 

 the mouth of the Rio Colorado, which is to the north of the 

 Rio Negro. They are said to prefer the plains near the sea. 

 When at Port Desire, in Patagonia (lat. 48°), Mr. Martens 

 shot an ostrich ; and I looked at it, forgetting at the moment, 

 in the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the 

 Petises, and thought it was a two-third grown one of the 

 common sort. The bird was cooked and eaten before my 

 memory returned. Fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, 

 many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin, had 



