Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, Vol. 3 [of 3] · Charles Darwin
MALDONADO.
During our stay at Maldonado I paid particular attention to the mammalia and birds. Of the latter I procured, within the distance of a morning’s walk, no less than eighty species, of which many were exceedingly beautiful--I think even more so than those of Brazil. The other orders were not neglected. Reptiles were numerous, and nine different kinds of snakes were taken. Of the indigenous mammalia, the only one now left of any size, which is common, is the _Cervus Campestris_. This deer is exceedingly abundant throughout the countries bordering the Plata. It is found in Northern Patagonia as far south as the Rio Negro (lat. 41°); but further southward none were seen by the officers employed in surveying the coast. It appears to prefer a hilly country; I saw very many small herds, containing from five to seven animals each, near the Sierra Ventana, and among the hills north of Maldonado. If a person crawling close along the ground, slowly advances towards a herd, the deer frequently, out of curiosity, approach to reconnoitre him. I have by this means killed, from one spot, three out of the same herd. Although so tame and inquisitive, yet when approached on horseback, they are exceedingly wary. In this country nobody goes on foot, and the deer knows man as its enemy, only when he is mounted and armed with the bolas. At Bahia Blanca, a recent establishment in Northern Patagonia, I was surprised to find how little the deer cared for the noise of a gun: one day I fired ten times, from within eighty yards, at one animal; and it was much more startled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of the rifle. My powder being exhausted, I was obliged (to my shame as a sportsman be it spoken), to get up and halloo till the deer ran away.
The most curious fact with respect to this animal, is the overpoweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the buck. It is quite indescribable: several times whilst skinning the specimen which is now mounted at the Zoological Museum, I was almost overcome by nausea. I tied up the skin in a silk pocket-handkerchief, and so carried it home: this handkerchief, after being well washed, I continually used, and it was, of course, as repeatedly washed; yet every time, for a space of one year and seven months, when first unfolded, I distinctly perceived the odour. This appears an astonishing instance of the permanence of some matter, which in its nature, nevertheless, must be most subtile and volatile. Frequently, when passing at the distance of half a mile to leeward of a herd, I have perceived the whole air tainted with the effluvium. I believe the smell from the buck is most powerful at the period when its horns are perfect, or free from the hairy skin. When in this state the meat is, of course, quite uneatable; but the Gauchos assert, that if buried for some time in fresh earth, the taint is removed. I have somewhere read that the islanders in the north of Scotland treat the rank carcasses of the fish-eating birds in the same manner.
The order Rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice alone I obtained no less than eight kinds.[4] The largest gnawing animal in the world, the _Hydrochærus Capybara_ (the water-hog), is here also common. One which I shot at Monte Video weighed ninety-eight pounds: its length, from the end of the snout to the stump-like tail, was three feet two inches; and its girth, three feet eight. These great Rodents are generally called “carpinchos:” they occasionally frequent the islands in the mouth of the Plata, where the water is quite salt, but are far more abundant on the borders of fresh-water lakes and rivers. Near Maldonado three or four generally live together. In the daytime they either lie among the aquatic plants, or openly feed on the turf plain.[5] When viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking and colour, they resemble pigs: but when seated on their haunches, and attentively watching any object with one eye, they reassume the appearance of their congeners, the cavies. Both the front and side view of their head has quite a ludicrous aspect, from the great depth of their jaw. These animals, at Maldonado, were very tame; by cautiously walking, I approached within three yards of four old ones.
This tameness may probably be accounted for, by the Jaguar having been banished for some years, and by the Gaucho not thinking it worth his while to hunt them. As I approached nearer and nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which is a low abrupt grunt; not having much actual sound, but rather arising from the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise I know at all like it, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. Having watched the four from almost within arm’s length (and they me) for several minutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop, with the greatest impetuosity, and emitted, at the same time, their bark. After diving a short distance they came again to the surface, but only just showed the upper part of their heads. When the female is swimming in the water and has young ones, they are said to sit on her back. These animals are easily killed in numbers; but their skins are of trifling value, and the meat is very indifferent. I have never heard of the carpincho being found south of the Plata; but as I see in a map that there is a Laguna del Carpincho high up the Rio Salado, I suppose such must have occurred. On the islands in the Rio Parana they are exceedingly abundant, and afford the ordinary prey to the Jaguar.
The Tucutuco (_Ctenomys Braziliensis_) is a curious small animal, which may be briefly described as a Rodent, with the habits of a mole. It is extremely abundant in some parts of the country,[6] but is difficult to be procured, and still more difficult to be seen, when at liberty. It lives almost entirely under ground, and prefers a sandy soil with a gentle inclination. The burrows are said not to be deep, but of great length. They are seldom open; the earth being thrown up at the mouth into hillocks, not quite so large as those made by the mole. Considerable tracts of country are so completely undermined by these animals, that horses, in passing over, sink above their fetlocks. The tucutucos appear, to a certain degree, to be gregarious. The man who procured the specimens for me had caught six together, and he said this was a common occurrence. They are nocturnal in their habits; and their principal food is afforded by the roots of plants, which is the object of their extensive and superficial burrows. Azara says they are so difficult to be obtained, that he never saw more than one. He states that they lay up magazines of food within their burrows.
This animal is universally known by a very peculiar noise, which it makes when beneath the ground. A person, the first time he hears it, is much surprised; for it is not easy to tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to guess what kind of creature utters it. The noise consists in a short, but not rough, nasal grunt, which is repeated about four times in quick succession; the first grunt is not so loud, but a little longer, and more distinct than the three following: the musical time of the whole is constant, as often as it is uttered.[7] The name Tucutuco is given in imitation of the sound. In all times of the day, where this animal is abundant, the noise may be heard, and sometimes directly beneath one’s feet. When kept in a room, the tucutucos move both slowly and clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action of their hind legs; and they are likewise quite incapable of jumping even the smallest vertical height. Mr. Reid, who dissected a specimen which I brought home in spirits, informs me that the socket of the thigh-bone is not attached by a ligamentum teres; and this explains, in a satisfactory manner, the awkward movements of their hinder extremities. When eating, they rest on their hind legs and hold the piece in their fore paws; they appeared also to wish to drag it into some corner. They are very stupid in making any attempt to escape; when angry or frightened, they uttered the tucutuco. Of those I kept alive, several, even the first day, became quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away; others were a little wilder.
The man who caught them asserted that very many are invariably found blind. A specimen which I preserved in spirits was in this state; Mr. Reid considers it to be the effect of inflammation in the nictitating membrane. When the animal was alive I placed my finger within half an inch of its head, and not the slightest notice was taken: it made its way, however, about the room nearly as well as the others. Considering the subterranean habits of the tucutuco, the blindness, though so frequent, cannot be a very serious evil; yet it appears strange that any animal should possess an organ constantly subject to injury. The mole, whose habits in nearly every respect, excepting in the kind of food, are so similar, has an extremely small and protected eye, which, although possessing a limited vision, at once seems adapted to its manner of life. Birds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulating grassy plains around Maldonado. Several species, of the genus Cassicus, allied to our starlings in habits and structure, and of Tyrant-flycatchers, and a mocking-bird, from their numbers, give a character to the ornithology. Some of the Cassici are very beautiful, black and yellow being the prevailing colours, but _Oriolus ruber_, Gme., offers an exception, in having its head, shoulders, and thighs of the most splendid scarlet. This bird differs from its congeners in being solitary. It frequents marshes, and, seated on the summit of a low bush, with its mouth wide open, utters a plaintive agreeable cry, which can be heard at a long distance.
Another species,[8] of a purplish-black colour, with a metallic lustre, feeds on the plain in large flocks, mingled with other birds. Several may often be seen standing on the back of a cow or horse. While perched on a hedge, and pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes attempt to sing, or rather to hiss: the noise is very peculiar; it resembles that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. Azara states that this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other birds’ nests. I was several times told by the country people, that there was some bird with this habit; and my assistant in collecting, who is a very accurate person, found a nest of the sparrow[9] of the country, with one egg in it larger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. Mr. Swainson[10] has remarked that with the exception of the _Molothrus pecoris_, the cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such as “fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they alone live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy.”
The _Molothrus pecoris_ is a North-American bird, and is closely allied in general habits, even in such peculiarities as standing on the backs of cattle (as its name implies), and in appearance, with the species from the plains of La Plata; it only differs in being rather smaller and of a different colour, yet the two birds would be considered by every naturalist as distinct species. It is very interesting to see so close an agreement in structure, and in habits, between allied species coming from opposite parts of a great continent. It is also very remarkable, that the cuckoos and the molothri, although opposed to each other in almost every habit, should agree in the one strange one of their parasitical propagation. The molothrus, like our starling, is eminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or disguise:[11] the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird; it frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars. In structure these birds are likewise widely removed from each other.
I will only mention two other birds, which are very common, and render themselves prominent from their habits. The _Saurophagus sulphureus_ is typical of the great American tribe of Tyrant-flycatchers. In its structure it closely approaches the true shrikes, but in its habits may be compared to many birds. I have frequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. When thus seen suspended in the air, it might very readily at a short distance be mistaken for one of the Rapacious order; its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and rapidity. At other times the Saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining stationary, it catches any small fish which may come near the margin. These birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages, or in courtyards with their wings cut. They soon become tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd manners, which were described to me, as being similar to those of the common magpie. Their flight is undulatory, for the weight of the head and bill appear too great for the body. In the evening the Saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the road-side, and continually repeats, without change, a shrill and rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate words. The Spaniards say it is like the words, “Bien te veo” (I see you well), and accordingly have given it this name.
A mocking-bird, _Orpheus modulator_, called by the inhabitants Calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior to that of any other bird in the country: indeed, it is nearly the only bird in South America which I have observed to take its stand for the purpose of singing. The song may be compared to that of the Sedge warbler, but is more powerful; some harsh notes and some very high ones, being mingled with a pleasant warbling. It is heard only during the spring. At other times its cry is harsh and far from harmonious. It frequents thickets and hedges, is very active, and whilst quickly hopping about, often expands its tail. Near Maldonado these birds were tame and bold; they constantly attended in numbers the country-houses, to pick the meat which was hung up on the posts or walls: if any other small bird joined the feast, the Calandria directly chased it away. On the wide uninhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied species, _O. Patagonica_ of D’Orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different tone of voice. It appears to me a curious circumstance, as showing the fine shades of difference in habits, that, judging from this latter respect alone, when I first saw this second species, I thought it was different from the Maldonado kind. Having afterwards procured a specimen, and comparing the two without particular care, they appeared so very similar, that I changed my opinion; but now Mr. Gould[12] says that they are certainly distinct; a conclusion in conformity with the trifling difference of habit, of which, however, he was not aware.
I will conclude these few ornithological observations with an account of the various carrion-feeding hawks which frequent the extratropical parts of South America. The number, tameness, and disgusting habits of these birds, make them pre-eminently striking to any one accustomed only to the birds of Northern Europe. In this list may be included four species of the Caracara or Polyborus, the Turkey-buzzard, the Gallinazo, and the Condor. The Caracaras are, from their structure, placed among the eagles: we shall soon see how ill they become so high a rank. In their habits they well supply the place of our carrion-crows, magpies, and ravens; a tribe of birds which is totally wanting in South America. To begin with the _Polyborus Braziliensis_: this is a common bird, and has a wide geographical range; it is most numerous on the grassy savannahs of La Plata (where it goes by the name of Carrancha), and is far from unfrequent throughout the sterile plains of Patagonia. In the desert between the rivers Negro and Colorado, numbers constantly attended the line of road to devour the carcasses of the exhausted animals which chanced to perish from fatigue and thirst.
Although thus common in these dry and open countries, and likewise on the arid shores of the Pacific, it is nevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of West Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The Carranchas, together with the _Polyborus Chimango_, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and slaughtering-houses. If an animal dies on the plain the Gallinazo commences the feast, and then the two Caracaras pick the bones clean. These birds, although thus commonly feeding together, are far from being friends. When the Carrancha is quietly seated on the branch of a tree, or on the ground, the Chimango often continues for a long time flying backwards and forwards, up and down, in a semicircle, trying each time, at the bottom of the curve, to strike its larger relative. The Carrancha takes little notice, except by bobbing its head. Although the Carranchas frequently assemble in numbers, they are not gregarious; for in desert places they may be seen solitary, or more commonly by pairs. Besides the carrion of large animals, these birds frequent the borders of streams and sea-beaches, to pick up whatever the waters may cast on shore. In Tierra del Fuego, and on the west coast of Patagonia, they must exclusively live on such supplies.
The Carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great numbers of eggs. They attempt also, together with the Chimango, to pick off the scabs from the sore backs of the horses and mules. The poor animal, on the one hand, with its ears down and its back arched; and, on the other, the hovering bird, eyeing, at the distance of a yard, the disgusting morsel, form a picture, which has been described by Captain Head with his own peculiar spirit and accuracy. The Carranchas kill wounded animals; but Mr. Bynoe saw one seize in the air a live partridge, which escaped, and was for some time chased on the ground. I believe this circumstance is very unusual: at all events there is no doubt that the chief part of their sustenance is derived from carrion. A person will discover the _Necrophagous_ habits of the Carrancha, by walking out on one of the desolate plains, and there lying down to sleep. When he awakes, 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 countries, which will be recognised by every one who has wandered over them.
If a party goes out hunting with dogs and horses, it 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 contradistinction 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_, followed by a rough double _r r_. Perhaps the Gauchos, from this cause, have called it Carrancha. Molina, who says it is called Tharu in Chile, states, that 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. The Carrancha builds a large coarse nest, either in a low cliff, or in a bush or lofty tree. 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 common on both sides of the continent, but does not appear to extend so far northward as the last species. It is found in Chiloe, and on the coast of Patagonia, and I have seen it in Tierra del Fuego. We have already remarked that it feeds on carrion, in common with the Carrancha. It is generally the last bird which leaves the skeleton; and may often be seen within the ribs of a cow or horse, like a bird in a cage. The Chimango often frequents the sea-coast and the borders of lakes and swamps, where it picks up small fish. It is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread, when thrown out of a house with other offal: I was also assured that they materially injure the potato crops in Chiloe, by stocking up the roots when first planted. In the same island I myself saw them by scores following the plough, and feeding on the worms and larvæ of insects. I do not believe they ever kill birds or animals. They are more active than the Carranchas, but their flight is heavy; I never saw one soar; they are very tame; are not gregarious; commonly perch on stone walls, and not upon trees; and frequently utter a gentle, shrill scream.
The third species of Polyborus[13] is remarkable from the confined localities which it frequents: we met with it only in one valley in Patagonia. The last species which we have to mention is the _Polyborus Novæ Zelandiæ_. This bird is exceedingly numerous over the whole of the Falkland Islands, which appear to be its metropolis. I was informed by the sealers, that they are found in the Diego Ramirez rocks and the Ildefonso isles, but never on the mainland of Tierra del Fuego. Nor do they occur on Georgia or the more southern islands. In many respects these hawks resemble in their habits the Carranchas. They live on the flesh of dead animals and on marine productions; and on the Ramirez rocks their whole sustenance must depend on the sea. They are extraordinarily tame and fearless, and haunt the neighbourhood of houses for offal. If a hunting party kills an animal, a number soon collect and patiently await, standing on the ground on all sides. After eating, their uncovered craws are largely protruded, giving them a disgusting appearance. They readily attack wounded birds: a cormorant in this state having taken to the shore, was immediately seized on by several, and its death hastened by their blows.
The Beagle was at the Falklands only during the summer, but the officers of the Adventure, who were there in the winter, mention many extraordinary instances of the boldness and rapacity of these birds. They actually pounced on a dog that was lying fast asleep close by one of the party; and the sportsmen had difficulty in preventing the wounded geese from being seized before their eyes. It is said that several together (in this respect resembling the Carranchas) wait at the mouth of a rabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when it comes out. They were constantly flying on board the vessel when in the harbour; and it was necessary to keep a good look out to prevent the leather being torn from the rigging, and the meat or game from the stern. These birds are very mischievous and inquisitive; they will pick up almost any thing from the ground; a large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of the heavy balls, used in catching cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced during the survey a more severe loss, in their stealing a small Kater’s compass in a red morocco leather case, which was never recovered. These birds are, moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate; tearing up the grass with their bills from rage.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.