Cassell's book of birds; vol. 2

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

THE CHIMANGO.

The CHIMANGO (Milvago Chimachima) is one of the most extensively distributed species of this family. The formation of its body is slender, its head large, the wings long and pointed; in the latter the fourth quill exceeds the rest in length. The tail is of moderate size, and slightly rounded; the legs high, slender, and the tarsi sparsely feathered; the toes are long, and armed with very sharp hooked talons; the beak is slender, and terminates in a short hook; the cere is broad, and projects beyond the well-developed nostrils, which are surrounded by a kind of ridge; the throat is but slightly covered with feathers; the bridles and region of the eyes are bare. Dirty white predominates in the plumage of the adult male; the wings, tail, back, and a streak above the eyes that extends to the nape are dark brown; the four exterior quills are white in the middle, and marked with dark spots, thus forming an irregular white line; the other quills are yellowish white at their origin, and streaked with black; the upper portion being blackish brown. The tail-feathers are white, tipped and striped three times with blackish brown. The eye is greyish brown, the beak pale blueish white, brightest towards its tip; the cheek-stripes, cere, eyelids, and a small place round the eye, and the chin are orange colour; the feet are pale blue. But little difference is perceptible in the plumage of the male and female. In the young birds the top of the head and cheeks are dark brown, the sides and back of the neck yellowish white, spotted with brown; the back is dark brown, and some of the feathers are bordered with red. The wing-covers are striped with two shades of brown, the throat is dirty white, the breast blackish brown, each feather being streaked with yellow; the belly is yellowish. The length of this species is fourteen inches and a half, its breadth thirty-one inches; the wing measures about ten, and the tail six inches. The female is a trifle larger than her mate.

The Chimangos inhabit almost the whole of South America, and throughout that continent are met with in great numbers; pasture lands or large open tracts are their favourite resorts, and, if not molested, they will congregate around and upon the houses of the natives; Boeck mentions having often seen them perching in crowds on the roofs, or following the ploughman up and down the fields. They rarely frequent mountains, and then only to a limited height; but at times they are casual visitors to the sea-coast. When upon the ground the Chimango moves with dignified ease, and regards all such as approach it with a proud glance of its eye, that would lead us to imagine its intelligence superior to its position in the economy of Nature. Its flight is far from rapid, and it seldom rises high into the air. According to the Prince von Wied, these birds are never seen flying peaceably about in parties, but exhibit on all occasions such a decided love of quarrelling and strife that even a chance meeting between two of them, if strangers to each other, is likely to be followed by a furious battle. No other Birds of Prey will eat such various kinds of food as are ordinarily devoured by the Chimango, to whose voracious appetite it would seem that nothing comes amiss, even down to the merest refuse from the kitchens of the natives; it much enjoys potatoes, and not only abstracts them from the houses, but will dig them up immediately after it has seen them planted. Of all the hungry crew by which the dead body of a horse or cow is invariably surrounded, this bird is always the last to leave the well-picked bones, and may often be seen, long after the rest have deserted it, running up and down within the skeleton, in the hope of finding an as yet undiscovered morsel; it eagerly devours worms, larvæ, snails, reptiles, fishes, birds, and small quadrupeds, besides a great variety of other articles of food gleaned from the sea-coast. The voice of the Chimango is extremely harsh and shrill. The breeding season commences in September. The eyrie, which is built upon a tree, is a large shallow structure formed of branches, twigs, and roots. The brood consists of five or six very round eggs, of a reddish or light brown-grey colour, marked with irregularly disposed spots of red or brown, which lie closest at the broad end. During the period of incubation the Chimango is somewhat less quarrelsome towards its associates than at other seasons of the year, and exhibits great affection for its young.

THE VULTURE BUZZARD.

The VULTURE BUZZARD (Milvago Australis) is also a well-known inhabitant of South America, and is particularly numerous in the Falkland Islands. In size this species resembles the Spotted Eagle (Aquila nævia). The plumage of the adult birds is deep black, the feathers upon the back, neck, and breast being streaked with white; the hose are bright reddish brown; the origin of the quills and tips of the tail feathers white. The beak is grey, the cere and feet of a yellow shade. The young are without the light streaks upon the neck and breast, the feathers on these parts being speckled with red or reddish white. The quills are rust red at the base, the tail blackish brown, the beak deep brown, and the feet brownish yellow. Abbott tells us that these birds will fall upon and devour such of their own species as have been wounded; and that they are so covetous and inquisitive that he has known them drag a large hat and two balls to the distance of a mile from the spot on which they were first discovered. According to another authority, they are so violent in their disposition that it is not uncommon for them to root up the grass when they are in a particularly troublesome humour. Upon the ground they run with all the agility of a pheasant, and are then very elegant in their appearance; when perched we cannot pay them the same compliment, as their crop is often so enormously distended as to excite strong feelings of disgust. The Vulture Buzzard spends but little of its time in the air, through which it may be said to walk rather than fly, so peculiar and heavy are its movements when upon the wing. It is noisy in its habits, and possesses a loud harsh voice, much resembling that of the Crow; whilst uttering its very disagreeable but varied notes, the head is repeatedly thrown backwards and forwards, after the manner of its congeners. The eyrie is built upon the precipitous rocks that abound upon the coast, and is usually formed of dry blades of tussock grass, lined with wool. The two or three eggs of which a brood consists are round, brown, and variegated with dark spots and streaks. The female lays about November, and Abbott tells us that the young do not attain their full beauty until they are two years old.

THE CARANCHO.

The CARANCHO or TRARO (Polyborus vulgaris or Polyborus Brasiliensis) is found extensively throughout South America. The group of which this bird may be regarded as the type, is characterised by a slender body and powerful wings (in which the third quill is the longest) that extend almost to the end of the tail; the feathers of the latter are ragged at the tips, as in the tail of the Vulture. The legs are long, the toes short, and the talons strong, sharp, and but slightly curved. The beak is large, high, straight at its base, and only slightly bent. The plumage is heavy and lustreless. The feathers upon the head, neck, and breast, are narrow; those on the back large and rounded. The cheek-stripes, as well as the region of the chin and crop, are so sparsely covered with short bristles that they appear to be bare. The length of the Carancho is about one foot two inches; its breadth more than four feet; the wing measures above fourteen, and the tail above seven inches; the feathers upon the top and back of the head can be raised so as to form a crest. The back is dark brown striped with white; the wings are of the same deep shade, streaked with a paler tint upon the posterior quills and wing-covers; the cheeks, chin, throat, and upper part of the breast are white or yellowish white; the sides of the throat and breast streaked like the back. The belly, legs, and rump are of an uniform blackish brown; the tail feathers are white, tipped broadly with blackish brown and thickly covered with extremely fine brown lines; the eye is grey or reddish brown; the cere, cheek-stripes, and the bare space around the eyes brownish yellow; the beak is light blue, and the foot orange colour. The female is larger than her mate, the only other difference in appearance consisting in the comparative paleness of her coloration. The feathers upon the bodies of the young birds are pointed and have light borders, those upon the top of the head being of a deep brown, but with this exception their plumage is very dull and faded in its appearance.

These remarkable birds are frequently met with in pairs, wandering over the plains of South America; but they are most numerous in the extensive regions known as the Steppes or Pampas, or near morasses. When seen upon the ground their appearance is striking and even beautiful; the crest is borne aloft, and each bird moves with an ease and bold bearing that might almost be termed majestic. Animal food of all kinds is greedily devoured by the Caranchos, and they capture mice, small birds, reptiles, snails, and insects, after the manner of Buzzards. Azara tells us that flocks of sheep if not protected by the presence of a good dog, are constantly in danger of falling victims to the attacks of these voracious marauders, who come down in parties of four or five upon the defenceless lambs, and tear out their entrails even while still alive.

The Caranchos, says Mr. Darwin, together with the voracious Chimangos, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and slaughter-houses. If an animal dies on the plain, the Milvago begins the feast, and then the Caranchos pick the bones quite clean. Besides devouring the carrion of large animals, these birds frequent the borders of streams and sea-beaches to pick up whatever the waters cast ashore. In Terra del Fuego and on the west coast of Patagonia they must live exclusively on such supplies. The Caranchos are said to be crafty and to steal great numbers of eggs. They attempt also, together with the Chimango, to pick the scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules; the poor animals on the one hand with ears down and back arched, and on the other the hovering bird of prey eyeing at a distance the disgusting morsel, form a picture that has been described by Captain Head with peculiar spirit and accuracy. A person will discover the necrophagous habits of the Carancho by walking out upon one of the desolate plains and there lying down to go to sleep; for when he awakes he will see on each surrounding hillock one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil eye. If a party goes out hunting with dogs and horses, it will be accompanied during the day by several of these attendants, and in the desert between the rivers Negro and Colorado, numbers constantly attend on the line of road to devour the carcases of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from fatigue and thirst.