Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ...

Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ... Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ...

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26 BULLETIN 133^ UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM in the hollow tibiotarsal bone, when applied externally, is claimed to be an excellent remedy in cases of rheumatism. The rhea is known as avestmz^ or more commonly in the north as ftandu, a guarani term also used to designate a spider. Occasionally when there was danger of confusion the rhea was indicated as nandu guaqu^ or large nandu. The bird was also called sure^ while to the Anguete Indians it was known as pil-ya-pin. The booming: of the male was spoken of as hureado nandu. On large estancias where rheas are not molested they increase rapidly in number, and many landowners complained that the great birds were expensive, as they consumed much feed otherwise available for stock. Some said that their daily consumption of food equaled that of a sheep; others placed it as equivalent to that of a steer. As there was little return from sale of feathers, sentiment in many quarters is arising against them. The only specimens secured were two chicks (mentioned above), taken September 23, 1920, at Kilometer 110 west of Puerto Pinasco,. Paraguay. These were apparently about 3 days old. Both are females, and though of the same sex show considerable difference in tone of color, one being browner than the other. Three subspecies of Rhea have been recognized, the typical americana from North Brazil, intermedia Rothschild and Chubb ^ from South Brazil and Uruguay (type locality Barra San Juan, Colonia, Uruguay), and albescens Lynch Arribalzaga and Holmberg^ from Argentina (type locality Carhue, Province of Buenos Aires). The bird from Argentina was separated by Brabourne and Chubb * under the subspecific name rothschildi on the basis of specimens from the Estancia Los Yngleses, near Lavalle (formerly Ajo), Province of Buenos Aires. The name Rhea albescens., proposed for a sup- posed distinct species, the white rhea, though based on albinistic specimens, is obviously applicable to the present form, since Carhue is far to the northward of the known range of Darwin's rhea. In passing it may be noted that Rhea a^nericana, var. albinea of Doering° is simply a new name for albescens of Lynch Arribalzaga and Holmberg. The status of rheas from Paraguay is uncertain. Two supposi- tions are open, either that they represent an undescribed form or that they are representative of intermedia known from South Brazil. The tAvo juvenile specimens from Puerto Pinasco differ from a newly hatched specimen of R. a. albescens^ taken near Bahia Blanca, Argen- 2 Nov. Zool., vol. 21, 1914, p. 223. 3 El Naturalista Argentine, vol. 1, pt. 4a, April, 1878, p. 101. *Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1911, p. 273. ^ Exped. al Rio Negro, Zool., 1881, p. 58.

BIRDS OF ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 27 tina (from University of Kansas Museum, collected in 1903), in having the wings more heavily marked with dark bands and the neck grayer." PTEROCNEJMIA PENNATA (d'Orbigny) Rhea pennaia d'OBBicNY, Voy. Amer. Merid., Itin., vol. 2, 1834, p. 67. (Bahia San Bias, southern Buenos Aires.) On December 6, 1920, at Zapala, in western Neuquen, I examined an adult female of Darwin's rhea secured by a police officer, who had killed the bird about 50 kilometers southwest of town by a fortunate shot with a revolver. As the rhea had been skinned roughly to pre- pare it for the table, I was able only to note the curious arrangement of the feathering on the front of the tarsus and to secure the skull. On December 10 I saw a living young bird, recently hatched, of the same species that had been captured between a j)oint below San Martin de Los Andes and Zapala. The call of this chick was lower and somewhat harsher than that of Rhea americana, but had a similar mourn- ful, whistled inflection. The skull secured has the dorsal elongation of the lachrymal bone, short and triangular, extending back only to a point well anterior to the rearward extension of the nasals, with the orbital margin of the postorbital process smooth. In Rkea ainericana the lachrymal is produced as an elongate spine that ends at the level of the posterior end of the nasals, while there is a distinct notch where the anterior margin of the postorbital process joins the margin of the orbit. I am not able to distinguish the difference in the form of the temporal fossa in the two species described by Pycraft.'^ A second skull taken from the mummied body of a bird only half grown found on a butte south of Zapala December 9, exhibits the same distinguishing characters in the lachrymal as the adult. Order TINAMIFORMES Family TINAMIDAE CALOPEZUS ELEGANS ELEGANS (la. Geoff. Saint-Hilaire) Eudromia elegans "D'Orb. et Is. Geoff.," Is. Geoff. Saint-Hilaire, Mag. Zool., 1S32, cl. 2, pi. 1. (Mouth of Rio Negro.*) On December 15, 1920, while working through the rolling pampa south of the shore of Lago Epiquen, near Carhue, Buenos Aires, " For a description of the iiabita, economic value, hunting, and domestication of the rhea see La Cultura Argentina, Muniz, F. J., Escritos Cientiflcos, 1916, pp. 83-218, an acccount reprinted from old numbers of La Gaceta Mercantil. '' Ou the Morphology and Phylogeny of the Palaeognathae, Trans. Zool. Soc. London, vol. 15, December, 1900, p. 270. » Designated by Peters, Bull. Mus. Comp. ZoOI., vol. 65, May, 1923, p. 287.

BIRDS OF ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 27<br />

tina (from Univer<strong>si</strong>ty of Kansas <strong>Museum</strong>, collected in 1903), in having<br />

the wings more heavily marked with dark bands and the neck<br />

grayer."<br />

PTEROCNEJMIA PENNATA (d'Orbigny)<br />

Rhea pennaia d'OBBicNY, Voy. Amer. Merid., Itin., vol. 2, 1834, p. 67.<br />

(Bahia San Bias, southern Buenos Aires.)<br />

On December 6, 1920, at Zapala, in western Neuquen, I examined<br />

an adult female of Darwin's rhea secured by a police officer, who had<br />

killed the bird about 50 kilometers southwest of town by a fortunate<br />

shot with a revolver. As the rhea had been skinned roughly to pre-<br />

pare it for the table, I was able only to note the curious arrangement of<br />

the feathering on the front of the tarsus and to secure the skull. On<br />

December 10 I saw a living young bird, recently hatched, of the same<br />

species that had been captured between a j)oint below San Martin de<br />

Los Andes and Zapala. The call of this chick was lower and somewhat<br />

harsher than that of Rhea americana, but had a <strong>si</strong>milar mourn-<br />

ful, whistled inflection.<br />

The skull secured has the dorsal elongation of the lachrymal bone,<br />

short and triangular, extending back only to a point well anterior to<br />

the rearward exten<strong>si</strong>on of the nasals, with the orbital margin of the<br />

postorbital process smooth. In Rkea ainericana the lachrymal is<br />

produced as an elongate spine that ends at the level of the posterior<br />

end of the nasals, while there is a distinct notch where the anterior<br />

margin of the postorbital process joins the margin of the orbit. I<br />

am not able to distinguish the difference in the form of the temporal<br />

fossa in the two species described by Pycraft.'^<br />

A second skull taken from the mummied body of a bird only half<br />

grown found on a butte south of Zapala December 9, exhibits the<br />

same distinguishing characters in the lachrymal as the adult.<br />

Order TINAMIFORMES<br />

Family TINAMIDAE<br />

CALOPEZUS ELEGANS ELEGANS (la. Geoff. Saint-Hilaire)<br />

Eudromia elegans "D'Orb. et Is. Geoff.," Is. Geoff. Saint-Hilaire, Mag.<br />

Zool., 1S32, cl. 2, pi. 1. (Mouth of Rio Negro.*)<br />

On December 15, 1920, while working through the rolling pampa<br />

south of the shore of Lago Epiquen, near Carhue, Buenos Aires,<br />

" For a description of the iiabita, economic value, hunting, and domestication of the<br />

rhea see La Cultura Argentina, Muniz, F. J., Escritos Cientiflcos, 1916, pp. 83-218, an<br />

acccount reprinted from old numbers of La Gaceta Mercantil.<br />

'' Ou the Morphology and Phylogeny of the Palaeognathae, Trans. Zool. Soc. London,<br />

vol. 15, December, 1900, p. 270.<br />

» De<strong>si</strong>gnated by Peters, Bull. Mus. Comp. ZoOI., vol. 65, May, 1923, p. 287.

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