urious little bird in the Puna, about the size of a
starling. Its plumage is exceedingly pretty, being on the back brown,
striped with black; on the throat grey, with two dark stripes, and on
the breast white. This bird has the remarkable peculiarity of making a
monotonous sound at the close of every hour, during the night. The
Indians call it the Ingahuallpa, or Cock of the Inga (_Thinocorus
Ingae_, Tsch.), and they associate many superstitious notions with its
regular hourly cry. The Puna morasses and lagunas are animated by
numerous feathered inhabitants. Among them is the huachua (_Chloephaga
melanoptera_, Eyt.), a species of goose. The plumage of the body is
dazzlingly white, the wings green, shading into brilliant violet, and
the feet and beak of a bright red. The Licli (_Charadrius resplendens_,
Tsch.) is a plover, whose plumage in color is like that of the huachua,
but with a sort of metallic brightness. There are two species of ibis
which belong to the Puna, though they are occasionally seen in some of
the lower valleys. One is the Bandurria (_Theristocus melanopis_,
Wagl.), and the other is the Yanahuico (_Ibis Ordi_, Bonap.). On the
lagunas swim large flocks of Quiullas (_Larus serranus_, Tsch.), white
mews, with black heads and red beaks, and the gigantic water-hen
(_Fulica gigantea_, Soul.). The plumage of the latter is dark-grey, and
at the root of the red beak there is a large yellow botch, in the form
of a bean, whence the Indians give this bird the name of _Anash sinqui_,
or bean nose. Among the few amphibia found in these regions one is
particularly remarkable. It is a small kind of toad (_Leiuperus
viridis_, Tsch.), and inhabits the boundaries of the perpetual snow.

The grasses of the Puna are used as fodder, and in many of the sheltered
valleys there are farms (_Haciendas de Ganado_), where large herds of
cattle are reared. The owners of some of these farms possess several
thousand sheep, and from four to five hundred cows. During the rainy
season the cattle are driven into the Altos. They graze in those high
regions, often at the altitude of 15,000 feet above the sea. When the
frost sets in they are brought down to the marshy valleys, and they
suffer much from insufficiency of pasture. From the wool of the sheep a
coarse kind of cloth, called Bayeta, is made in the Sierra. Some of this
wool is exported, and is much prized in Europe. The old black cattle and
sheep are slaughtered, and their flesh, wh