Paraguay , Bolivia , Southern Brazil. 463 
Ajo district. I have never been able to distinguish its cry 
from that of the others; it is a weird series of noises, the 
commonest being very similar to derisive laughter softened 
down. 
Fam. Aramid,e. 
239. Aramus scolopaceus. 
Aramus scolopaceus Arg. Orn. ii. p. 159; Sharpe, Cat. B. 
xxiii. p. 237. 
a. A ad. Pan de Azucar, Brazil. Sept. 18, 1909. 
I rides brown, eyelid dusky ; bill ashy at tip, dull yellow- 
ochre at base, culmen dusky ; legs and toes ashy. 
Owing to the dry seasons experienced in the Ajo district, 
this bird was absent during my visit, but a few arrived in 
the summer of 1909. It was quite commonly observed 
on the river-expedition in all swampy localities. 
The cry is loud and the flight slow and awkward, the wings 
being held well above the back and the head rather low. 
When alarmed this bird generally perches on the tops of 
trees or bushes, after the manner of a Heron. 
The five eggs obtained agree very well with those in the 
British Museum, but are slightly darker in the ground¬ 
colour. 
Fam. Parried. 
240. Parra jacana. 
Parra jacana Arg. Orn. ii. p. 163. 
Jacana jacana Sharpe, Cat. B. xxiv. p. 82. 
a } b, c. A ? ad. Tayru, Paraguay. Aug. 5, 1909. 
d, e J /. $ ? ad. and young. Ten miles above Villa Pilar, 
Paraguay. Aug. 7, 1909. 
g. ^ ad. Curuzu Chica, Paraguay. Aug. 28, 1909. 
Observed commonly throughout the river expedition on 
all the swamps and lagoons. It is very tame and more or 
less gregarious. Its cry is a sharp short “ whit/' It has 
the habit of the Plovers of raising the wings above the back 
before flight, and many individuals doing this together pre¬ 
sent a pretty sight. 
