now in extreme old age.
The zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its flora. [9] On the arid
plains a few black beetles (Heteromera) might be seen slowly crawling
about, and occasionally a lizard darted from side to side. Of birds we
have three carrion hawks and in the valleys a few finches and
insect-feeders. An ibis (Theristicus melanops--a species said to be
found in central Africa) is not uncommon on the most desert parts: in
their stomachs I found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even
scorpions. [10] At one time of the year these birds go in flocks, at
another in pairs, their cry is very loud and singular, like the
neighing of the guanaco.
The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the
plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the
camel of the East. It is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with
a long slender neck and fine legs. It is very common over the whole of
the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near
Cape Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to
thirty in each; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which
must have contained at least five hundred.
They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes told me, that
he one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which evidently
had been frightened, and were running away at full speed, although
their distance was so great that he could not distinguish them with his
naked eye. The sportsman frequently receives the first notice of their
presence, by hearing from a long distance their peculiar shrill
neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively, he will probably
see the herd standing in a line on the side of some distant hill. On
approaching nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at
an apparently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten
track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly meets
a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand
motionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few yards,
turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this difference in
their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief
enemy the puma? Or does curiosity overcome their timidity? That they
are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground, and plays
strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will
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