Argentine Ornithology Volume Ii Part 41

This species is solitary in its habits, conceals itself very closely in the gra.s.s, and flies with the greatest reluctance. I doubt if there is anywhere a bird with such a sounding flight as the Tinamou; the whir of its wings can only be compared to the rattling of a vehicle driven at great speed over a stony road. From the moment it rises until it alights again there is no cessation in the rapid vibration of the wings; but, like a ball thrown by the hand, the bird flies straight away with extraordinary violence until the impelling force is spent, when it slopes gradually towards the earth, the distance it is able to accomplish at a flight being from 800 to 1500 yards. This flight it can repeat when driven up again as many as three times, after which the bird can rise no more.

The call of the Large Partridge is heard, in fine weather, at all seasons of the year, especially near sunset, and is uttered while the bird sits concealed in the gra.s.s, many individuals answering each other; for although I call it a solitary bird, it being a rare thing to see even two together, many birds are usually found living near each other.

The song or call is composed of five or six notes of various length, with a mellow flute-like sound, and so expressive that it is, perhaps, the sweetest bird-music heard on the pampas.

The eggs are usually five in number, nearly round, highly polished, and of a dark-reddish-purple or wine colour; but this beautiful tint in a short time changes to a dull leaden hue. The nest is a mere sc.r.a.pe, insufficiently lined with a few gra.s.s-leaves. The young birds appear to leave the mother (or father, for it is probable that the male hatches the eggs) at a very early period. When still very small they are found living, like the adults, a solitary life, with their facilities, including those of flight and the melodious voice, in a high state of perfection.

428. NOTHOPROCTA PENTLANDI (Gray).

(PENTLAND'S TINAMOU.)

+Rhynchotus pentlandii+, _G. R. Gray, List of Gall. B. M._ p. 103 (1867). +Rhynchotus punctulatus+, _G. R. Gray, ibid._ (jr.).

+Nothoprocta doeringi+, _Cab. J. f. O._ 1878, p. 198 (Cordova); _White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 432 (Cordova).

_Description._--Above cinereous; head and back banded with black bars, which are bordered with ochraceous; back also varied with longitudinal whitish streaks; wings cinereous, with pale ochraceous cross bars on the outer webs: beneath pale cinereous; throat whitish; breast and sides of belly with rounded whitish spots; middle of belly creamy white; bill and feet reddish: whole length 80 inches, wing 55, tail 20.

_Hab._ Andes of Bolivia and Northern Argentina.

We have been able to compare a typical specimen of _Nothoprocta doeringi_, received from Dr. Doering of Cordova, with the series of specimens of this group in the British Museum, and find that Dr.

Cabanis's name must give way to G. R. Gray's prior designation. Dr.

Doering's specimens of this species were obtained in the Sierra de Cordova. The original example of _Nothoprocta pentlandi_ was procured by Pentland, the well-known scientific traveller (after whom it is called), in the Andes of Bolivia.

429. NOTHOPROCTA CINERASCENS (Burm.).

(CINEREOUS TINAMOU.)

+Nothura cinerascens+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 498 (Cordova, Tuc.u.man); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 364 (Tuc.u.man); _White, P. Z.

S._ 1883, p. 43 (Cordova). +Nothoprocta cinerascens+, _Cab. J. f.

O._ 1878, p. 198 (Cordova).

_Description._--Above cinereous; head and whole back banded with black and pale brown and streaked with fulvous white: beneath pale ashy white; breast and flanks banded and freckled with blackish and cinereous; under wing coverts with black and fulvous cross bands; wings blackish, outer webs spotted with fulvous; bill horn-colour, lower mandible and feet yellowish: whole length 120 inches, wing 68, tail 26.

_Hab._ Northern Argentina.

This fine and distinct species was first obtained by Dr. Burmeister in Cordova and in Tuc.u.man, where Durnford also obtained specimens of it during his last journey. It is larger than _N. pentlandi_, and has the breast thickly covered by somewhat rounded light spots upon a cinereous ground; these are mixed with black points and slight striations.

430. NOTHURA MACULOSA (Temm.)

(SPOTTED TINAMOU.)

+Nothura maculosa+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, p. 499; _Scl. et Salv.

Nomencl._ p. 153; _iid. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 143 (Buenos Ayres); _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 547 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 203 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 168 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 629 (Misiones); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 317 (Entrerios, Bahia Blanca); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 473 (Lomas de Zamora). +Nothura major+, _Darwin, Zool.

'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 119.

_Description._--Above pale yellowish brown, barred with black and brown and streaked with fulvous white; wing-feathers ashy black, crossed on both webs by fulvous bands: beneath rich yellowish brown; throat white; breast and flanks spotted and banded with brownish black; bill and feet yellowish brown: whole length 110 inches, wing 55, tail 16. _Female_ similar, but larger.

_Hab._ Argentine Republic.

The _Perdiz comun_ or Common Partridge of the pampas, as it is always called--the naturalist's name of Tinamou being utterly unknown in the southern part of South America--is much smaller than the "Perdiz grande," but in its form, slender curved beak, bare legs, and in the yellowish mottled plumage generally resembles it. It also inhabits the same kind of open gra.s.sy country, and is abundant everywhere on the pampas and as far south as the valley of the Rio Negro in Patagonia. It is solitary; but a number of individuals are usually found in proximity; and in lonely places on the pampas, where they are excessively abundant, I have seen three or four meet together and play in the manner of kittens, darting out from a place of concealment at each other, the pursued bird always escaping by turning off at right angles or by suddenly crouching down and allowing the pursuer to spring over it.

It is very tame in disposition, and flies so reluctantly that it is not necessary to shoot them where they are very abundant, as any number can be killed with a long whip or stick. It moves on the ground in a leisurely manner, uttering as it walks or runs a succession of low whistling notes. It has two distinct songs or calls, pleasing to the ear and heard all the year round; but with greater frequency in spring, and, where the birds are scarce and much persecuted, in spring only. One is a succession of twenty or thirty short impressive whistling notes of great compa.s.s, followed by half a dozen rapidly uttered notes, beginning loud and sinking lower till they cease: the other call is a soft continuous trill, which appears to swell mysteriously on the air, for the listener cannot tell whence it proceeds; it lasts several seconds, and then seems to die away in the distance.

It is an exceedingly rare thing to see this bird rise except when compelled. I believe the power of flight is used chiefly, if not exclusively, as a means of escape from danger. The bird rises up when almost trodden upon, rushing into the air with a noise and violence that fill one with astonishment. It continues to rise at a decreasing angle for fifty or sixty yards, then gradually nears the earth, till, when it has got to a distance of two or three hundred yards, the violent action of the wing ceases, and the bird glides along close to the earth for some distance, and either drops down or renews its flight. I suppose many birds fly in much the same way; only this Tinamou starts forward with such amazing energy that, until this is expended and the moment of gliding comes, the flight is just as ungovernable to the bird as the motion of a brakeless engine, rushing along at full speed, would be to the driver. The bird knows the danger to which this peculiar character of its flight exposes it so well, that it is careful to fly only to that side where it sees a clear course. It is sometimes, however, compelled to take wing suddenly, without considering the obstacles in its path; it also often miscalculates the height of an obstacle, so that for Tinamous to meet with accidents when flying is very common. In the course of a short ride of two miles, during which several birds sprang up before me, I have seen three of these Tinamous dash themselves to death against a fence close to the path, the height of which they had evidently misjudged. I have also seen a bird fly blindly against the wall of a house, killing itself instantly. A brother of mine told me of a very curious thing he once witnessed. He was galloping over the pampas, with a very violent wind blowing in his face, when a Tinamou started up before his horse. The bird flew up into the air vertically, and, beating its wings violently, and with a swiftness far exceeding that of its ordinary flight, continued to ascend until it reached a vast height, then came down again, whirling round and round, striking the earth a very few yards from the spot where it rose, and crushing itself to a pulp with the tremendous force of the fall. It is very easy to guess the cause of such an accident: while the Tinamou struggled blindly to go forward, the violent wind, catching the under surface of the wings, forced it upwards, until the poor bird, becoming hopelessly confused, fell back to earth. I have often seen a swallow, gull, or hawk, soaring about in a high wind, suddenly turn the under surface of its wings to the wind and instantly shoot straight up, apparently without an effort, to a vast height, then recover itself, and start off in a fresh direction. The Tinamou, when once launched on the atmosphere, is at the mercy of chance; nevertheless, had this incident been related to me by a stranger, I should not have recorded it.

This Tinamou is frequently run down and caught by well-mounted Gaucho boys; the bird frequently escapes into a kennel in the earth, but when it sees no refuge before it and is hotly pursued, it sometimes drops dead. When caught in the hand they "feign death" or swoon, but on being released quickly recover their faculties.

The nest is a slight hollow scratched in the ground under a thistle or in the gra.s.s, and lined with a few dry leaves. The number of eggs laid varies from five to eight. These are elliptical, with polished sh.e.l.ls, and as a rule are of a wine-purple colour; but the hue varies somewhat, some eggs having a reddish tinge and others a deep liver-colour.

431. NOTHURA DARWINI, Gray.

(DARWIN'S TINAMOU.)

[Plate XX.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: NOTHURA DARWINI.]

+Nothura minor+, _Darwin, Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,'_ iii. p. 119 (Bahia Blanca). +Nothura darwini+, _Gray, List of Gall. B. M._ p. 104 (1867); _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872. p. 547. +Nothura maculosa+, _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 45 (Chupat). +Nothura perdicaria+, _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 405 (Centr. Patagonia).

_Description._--Above cinereous; feathers of head and back marked with narrow black and fulvous cross bands and margined with bright ashy-white edgings; wings ashy black, crossed on both webs by fulvous bands, except in the two outer primaries: beneath pale fulvous, throat white; breast more cinereous, and densely covered with indistinct black and brown cross bars and whitish-grey streaks; flanks and lower belly with irregular black cross bars; bill horn-colour; lower mandible and feet yellowish: whole length 85 inches, wing 54, tail 24.

_Hab._ Northern Patagonia.

This species, called _Perdiz chico_ by the natives, is somewhat smaller and paler in colouring than the common Tinamou of the pampas, but very closely resembles the young of that species. It inhabits Patagonia, and is nowhere very numerous, but appears to be thinly and equally distributed on the dry sterile plains of that region, preferring places abounding in thin scrub. In disposition it is extremely shy, and when approached springs up at a distance ahead and runs away with the greatest speed and apparently much terrified. Sometimes when thus running it utters short whistled notes like the allied species. It rises more readily and with less noise than the pampas bird, and has a much higher flight. It has one call-note, heard only in the love-season--a succession of short whistling notes, like those of the _N. maculosa_, but without the rapidly uttered conclusion.

The nest is made under a small scrubby bush, and contains from five to seven eggs, in form and colour like those of _N. maculosa_, except that the reddish-purple tint is paler.

The figure (Plate XX.) is taken from one of my specimens from the Rio Negro, now in the British Museum.

432. CALODROMAS ELEGANS (d'Orb. et Geoff.).

(MARTINETA TINAMOU.)

+Eudromia elegans+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 408 (San Luis, Mendoza); _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 545 (Rio Negro). +Calodromas elegans+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 153; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 45 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 406 (Centr. Patagonia); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 318 (Bahia Blanca).

_Description._--Above densely banded and spotted with black and pale fulvous; head cinereous, with black striations; a long recurved vertical crest of black feathers, partly edged with cinereous; two lateral stripes on the head above and beneath the eye and throat cinnamomeous white: beneath pale cinnamomeous, breast with numerous black cross bars and black shaft-spots; belly, flanks, and under tail-coverts with broad black cross bands; wings ashy black, with numerous cross bands of pale cinnamomeous; bill blackish; feet bluish grey: whole length 145 inches, wing 83, tail 30. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Northern Patagonia and Western Argentina.

This fine game bird in its size and mottled plumage resembles the _Rhynchotus rufescens_ of the pampas, which it represents in the Patagonian district south of the Rio Colorado. It differs externally in the more earthy hue of its plumage, which is protective and harmonizes admirably with the colour of its sterile surroundings; also in having a shorter beak, and in being adorned with a long slender black crest, which, when excited, the bird carries directed forwards like a horn.

There is, however, an anatomical difference, which seems to show that the two species are not very near relations. The structure of the intestinal ca.n.a.l in the Martineta is most peculiar, and unlike that of any other bird I have ever dissected: the ca.n.a.l divides near the stomach into a pair of great ducts which widen towards the middle and extend almost the entire length of the abdominal cavity, and are thickly set with rows of large membranous claw-shaped protuberances.

The Martineta inhabits the elevated tablelands, and is found chiefly where patches of scattered dwarf scrub occur among the th.o.r.n.y thickets.

Apparently they do not require water, as they are met with in the driest situations where water never collects. They are extremely fond of dusting themselves, and form circular, nest-like hollows in the ground for that purpose; these hollows are deep and neatly made, and are visited every day by the same birds throughout the year. They live in coveys of from half a dozen to twenty or thirty birds, and when disturbed do not as a rule take to flight at once, but jump up one after another and run away with amazing swiftness, uttering as they run shrill, squealing cries, as if in the greatest terror. Their flight, although violent, is not so sounding as that of the Pampas Tinamou (_Rhynchotus_), and differs remarkably in another respect. Every twenty or thirty yards the wings cease beating and remain motionless for a second, when the bird renews the effort; thus the flight is a series of rushes rather than a continuous rush like that of the _Rhynchotus_. It is also accompanied with a soft wailing note, which appears to die away and swell again as the flapping of the wings is renewed.