rter of Peru (the marine
and river fowl being excepted) is very inconsiderable. The scarcity of
woods and high trees may probably account for this. Besides the carrion
vulture, condors collect in great numbers on the shore to prey on the
stranded whales. Falcons seldom appear, except the small Sparrow Hawk
(_Falco sparverius_, L.), which is very numerous in Peru. One of the
most common birds is the little Earth Owl (_Noctua urucurea_, Less.),
which is met with in nearly all the old ruins scattered along the coast.
The Pearl Owl (_Strix perlata_, L.) is bred in several plantations, as
it is found useful in catching mice. Swallows are not very common; they
do not nestle on the housetops, but on walls at some distance from
towns. The Peruvians give them the euphonious name, _Palomitas de Santa
Rosa_ (Santa Rosa's little pigeons). Among the singing-birds the Crowned
Fly King (_Myoarchus coronatus_, Cab.) is the most distinguished. The
head, breast, and belly of this bird are deep red, the wings and back
very dark brown. He always plants himself on the highest point of a
tree, flies perpendicularly upward, whirls about in the air singing, and
drops down again straight to his former perch. The Limenos have given
this elegant bird a very unbecoming name, which I need not repeat here.
On some parts of the coast it is called _Saca-tu-real_ (draw out your
real), because his song sounds like these words. Some fine Tanagers
(_Tanagra frugilega_, Tsch.; _Tanagra analis_, Tsch.) visit the fruit
gardens round Lima. I saw two birds, of the starling species, the
red-bellied Picho (_Sturnella militaris_, Viell.), and the
glossy-black Chivillo (_Cassicus palliatus_, Tsch.), which are kept
in cages on account of their very melodious song. Three kinds of
parrots, which abound in the valleys on the coast, commit great
depredations in the maize fields. The largest (_Conurus tumultuosus_,
Tsch.) is green, with a red forehead, and some red feathers scattered
over the body. A second sort builds its nest chiefly on the sides of
rocks (_Conurus rupicola_, Tsch.), and only occasionally visits the
plantations. The third is the smallest, but at the same time the most
beautiful of the whole (_Conurus sitophaga_, Tsch.). A fine green
overspreads all the upper part of the body, a blue fringe borders the
feathers of the wings; and a bright citron-yellow is diffused over
the forehead, neck, breast, and belly. It is only seven inches long.
Pigeons, large an