Ch.I. south AMERICA. 301 



and on the feventh we favv a new fpecics of a dark 

 brown colour, greatly refembling geefe, and, like 

 them, keep fwimming on the water for a long time. 

 On the 8th we faw birds of a brown and white co- 

 lour, in fmall flocks, of ten or fifteen in each. 

 Thefe alfo fwam on the water, and when flying, kept 

 always near the furface. On the 9th being in the 

 latitude of 54° 21' and 16'' 10' E. of the meridian 

 of Conception, befides the fame flocks of birds, 

 we alio faw Pardelas, but of a lefs fize than thofe in 

 the South Sea- On the loth in the latitude of 54^ 

 and 17° 38' E. of Conception, the winds v/ere ver^ 

 variable between the N. N. E. and S. W. with fo 

 thick a fog, that the fliips fired guns to avoid run- 

 ning foul of one another; for each had kept two 

 guns mounted for making fignais. We had alio 

 heavy fiiowers, and in the evening faw flocks of 

 birds, mofl: of them of middling fize, with dark 

 brown feathers, and flender crooked wings. The 

 whole difl^erence between them confiflied in the fixe, 

 their form and colour being perfedlly alike and tho* 

 we faw them during the whole day, they were in the 

 greatefl: numbers from four to fix in the evening. 

 On the iith being in the latitude of 52** 15', and 

 18^ 9' E. of Conception, we obfcrved that the co- 

 lour of the water was changed, it being now greenifh ; 

 but another day's failing brought us into water of its 

 ufual colour. On the 12th and 13th the wind ble\^ 

 frefli at N. W. and W. accompanied with heavy 

 fhowers, but of no long continuance, nor attended 

 with any bad confequences. Among the birds feen 

 thefe two days, and which were more numerous than 

 before, two fpecies in particular engaged my atten- 

 tion ; one large, refembhng vultures, with black 

 wings, and their bodies of a light brown fpotted with 

 white : the other, tho' little different in colour from 

 the former, did not exceed the Pardelas in fize : 

 both ibrts kept near the fl-np j and our men told us 



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