Part V

. 1837, p. 10.

_C. vertice corporeque supra intensè fuscis, lineâ stramineâ a naribus supra oculos ad occiput tendente; hoc rufescenti-fusco; primariis intensè fuscis ad basin cinereis, lineis nigris cancellatis; caudæ tectricibus albis; rectricibus intermediis cinereis, externis cinereo-stramineis, omnibus lineis latis fuscis transversim notatis, lineâ ultimâ latissimâ, apice sordidè stramineo; gulâ pectoreque stramineis, fusco variegatis; corpore subtus stramineo; plumis pectoris laterumque striâ centrali fuscâ notatis; rostro nigro; cerâ tarsisque flavis._

Long. tot. 22 unc.; _rostri_, 1½; _alæ_, 17; _caudæ_, 10½; _tarsi_, 3⅓.

COLOUR.—Head, back of throat, whole back, and wing-coverts umber brown, of a nearly uniform tint, and not very dark. Front, over the nostrils, with few fulvous bristly feathers; over the eyes, extending backward, a pale almost pure white streak, which joins an irregular band, extending across the nape of the neck, from below ear to ear, of brown feathers, edged with pale fulvous, giving a streaked appearance to that part. The wing-coverts are just tipped with dirty white. Wings: primaries of the same brown as the back, the inner ones assuming a gray tinge; these, and the basal parts of the inner webs of all, are obscurely barred; secondaries and tertiaries of a paler brown than the interscapular region. Tail grayish brown, with five well-defined bars, about ¾ of an inch wide, of the same brown, as the rest of the upper surface; extremities tipped with very pale dirty brown. Tail-coverts; upper ones brown, and the under ones white, with small brown spots on the shaft towards their extremities. _Under surface._—Chin, pale fulvous, or ochre yellow. Breast, belly, thighs and under tail-coverts the same; the feathers on the lower part of the breast and on the belly have a dark brown mark along the shaft, which widens but very little towards the extremity; the brown on those on the upper part of the breast and on the throat is broader, and some of the feathers are of a darker fulvous, and as the dark brown of the back encroaches on each side, this part is much darker than the rest of the under surface. Above this, and just beneath the chin, a kind of collar is formed from ear to ear, of short feathers of a more strongly pronounced fulvous tint, with a narrow brown streak on their shafts. Lining of wings, and flanks almost white, with transverse brown bars. Under side of tail pale gray passing into fulvous, with the terminal dark brown bars seen through. Bill, horn coloured, with some white markings towards its base; tarsi bright yellow.

FORM.—Third primary rather longer than fourth, second equal to fifth; first more nearly equal to the sixth than to the seventh. Wings reaching within an inch of the end of the tail. Feathers on thighs depend but little below the knee.

In. Total length 22 Wings folded 17 Tail 10½ Tarsi 3⅓ Middle toe to end of claw 2¾ From tip of bill to nearest part of cere ⁷⁵⁄₁₀₀

Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata, (_July_.)

This hawk was not uncommon on the grassy savannahs and hills in the neighbourhood of the Rio Plata. Mr. Gould remarks “that in size it fully equals the _Circus æruginosus_ of Europe, which it doubtless represents in the countries it inhabits. This species has a remarkable specific character in the lanceolate and conspicuous stripes down its breast.”

2. CIRCUS CINERIUS. _Vieill._

Circus cinerius, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. Falco histrionicus, _Quoy and Gaim._ Voy. autour du monde, Plate 15. Circus histrionicus, _Vigors_, Zoological Journal, vol. iii. p. 425, note.

My specimens were obtained at the Falkland Islands, and at Concepçion in Chile. M. D’Orbigny states that it is a wild bird; but at the Falkland Islands it was, for one of its order, very tame. The same author gives a curious account of its habits: in a different manner from other raptorial birds, when it has killed its prey, it does not fly to a neighbouring tree, but devours it on the spot. It roosts on the ground, either on the top of a sand hillock, or by the bank of a stream: it sometimes walks, instead of hopping, and when doing so, it has some resemblance in general habit to the _Milvago chimango_. It preys on small quadrupeds, molluscous animals, and even insects; and I find in my notes, that I saw one in the Falkland Islands, feeding on the carrion of a dead cow. Although in these respects this _Circus_ manifests some relation in its habits with the _Polyborinæ_, yet it has the elegant and soaring flight, peculiar to its family; and in form it does not depart from the typical structure. Mr. Gould remarks that “we see in this elegant bird as perfect an analogue of the _Circus cyaneus_ of Europe, as in the preceding species of the _Circus æruginosus_.”

FAMILY.—STRIGIDÆ.

SUB-FAM.—SURNINIÆ.

ATHENE CUNICULARIA. _Bonap._

Strix cunicularia, _Mol. Bonap._ Am. Orni. I. 68. pl. 7. f. 2.

This bird, from its numbers and the striking peculiarities of its habits has been mentioned in the works of all travellers, who have crossed the Pampas. In Banda Oriental it is its own workman, and excavates its burrow on any level spot of sandy soil; but in the Pampas, or wherever the Bizcacha is found, it uses those made by that animal. During the open day, but more especially in the evening, these owls may be seen in every direction standing frequently by pairs on the hillock near their habitation. If disturbed, they either enter the hole, or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move with a remarkably undulatory flight to a short distance, and then turning round, steadily gaze at their pursuer. Occasionally in the evening they may be heard hooting. I found in the stomachs of two which I opened the remains of mice; and I saw a small snake killed and carried away by one. It is said that reptiles are the common object of their prey during the day time. Before I was aware, from the numbers of mice caught in my traps, how vastly numerous the small rodents are in these open countries, I felt much surprise how such infinite numbers of owls could find sufficient means of support. I never saw this bird south of the Rio Negro, (Lat. 41° S.) In North America they frequent only the trans-Mississippian territories in the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains. The account given by Say of their habits, agrees with what may every day be observed in the Pampas; but in the northern hemisphere they inhabit the burrows of the Marmot or Prairie dog, instead of those of the Bizcacha; and it would appear that their food is chiefly derived from insects, instead of from small quadrupeds and reptiles. Mr. Gould says he has compared my specimens from La Plata and Chile, on opposite sides of the Cordillera, with those from Mexico and the Rocky Mountains of North America, and he cannot perceive the slightest specific difference between them.

SUB-FAM.—ULULINÆ.

1. OTUS GALAPAGOENSIS. _Gould._

PLATE III.

Otus (Brachyotus) Galapagoensis, _Gould_, in Proceedings of the Zoological Society,