THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



67 



its ears down and its back arched; and, on the othef, the 

 hovering bird, eyeing at the distance of a yard the disgust- 

 ing morsel, form a picture, which has been described by Cap- 

 tain Head with his own peculiar spirit and accuracy. These 

 false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or animal; and 

 their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very evident to 

 any one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of Pata- 

 gonia, for when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding 

 hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an 

 evil eye: it is a feature in the landscape of these coun- 

 tries, which will be recognised by every one who has wan- 

 dered over them. If a party of men go out hunting with dogs 

 and horses, they 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 con- 

 tradistinction to hopping), but not quite so quickly as some 

 of its congeners. 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, fol- 

 lowed by a rough double r r; 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 completely inverted position. 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 umbilical cord; and 

 that it pursues the Gallinazo, till that bird is compelled to 

 vomit up the carrion it may have recently gorged. Lastly, 

 Azara states that several Carranchas, five or six together, 

 will unite in chase of large birds, even such as herons. All 

 these facts show that it is a bird of very versatile habits and 

 considerable ingenuity. 



The Polyborus Chimango is considerably smaller than the 

 last species. It is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread; 



