. Birds of La Plata . hemfor two or three hours. On the ground one of theselarge flocks will sometimes occupy an area of half asquare league, so widely apart do the birds keep. Ihave dissected a great many and found nothing butcoleopterous insects in their stomachs; and indeedthey would not be able to keep in such large com-panies when travelling if they required a noblerprey. At the end of one summer a flock numberingabout two hundred birds appeared at an estancianear my home, and though very much disturbedthey remained for about three months, roosting atnight on the plantation trees, and pas
. Birds of La Plata . hemfor two or three hours. On the ground one of theselarge flocks will sometimes occupy an area of half asquare league, so widely apart do the birds keep. Ihave dissected a great many and found nothing butcoleopterous insects in their stomachs; and indeedthey would not be able to keep in such large com-panies when travelling if they required a noblerprey. At the end of one summer a flock numberingabout two hundred birds appeared at an estancianear my home, and though very much disturbedthey remained for about three months, roosting atnight on the plantation trees, and passing the da^scattered about the adjacent plain, feeding on grass-hoppers and beetles. This flock left when the weatherturned cold; but at another estancia a flock appearedlater in the season and remained all the winter. Thebirds became so reduced in flesh that after everycold rain or severe frost numbers were found deadunder the trees where they roosted; and in thatway most of them perished before the return RED-BACKED BUZZARD 47 RED-BACKED BUZZARD Bttteo erythronotus Above slatey blue; wing feathers slatey with narrow black bars;upper tail-coverts and tail white, the latter crossed with narrowgrey bars and broad black band; beneath white; bill dark horn-colour ; feet yellow; length 33, wing inches. Female similar,but back deep chestnut. This is a fine bird—^thc king of South-AmericanBu^^ards. In the adult female the three colours ofthe plumage are strongly contrasted; the back beingrusty rufous, the rest of the upper parts grey, thewhole under surface ptire white. It is occasionallymet with in the northern provinces of the ArgentineRepublic, but is most common in Patagonia; andit has been said that in that region it takes the placeof the nearly allied Buteo albicaudatus of Brazil. Inhabits, however, the two species are as different asit is possible for two Raptores to be; for while thenorthern bird has a cowardly spirit, is, to someextent, gregarious, and fee
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1920
