On the occasion of our last visit to Sandy Point, the captain received despatches from the Admiralty, which authorised him to proceed to Skyring Water in order to investigate the nature of the coal which was then being worked on the north-east of that basin, and to ascertain if it could be made available for the use of men-of-war or merchant vessels, passing through the Straits of Magellan. A favourable opportunity occurring on March 5th, the Alert accordingly got under way from her anchorage at Tilly Bay, and steaming northwards across the Strait, entered the Jerome Channel. Here we experienced a strong current from the northward, which was attributed by Mr. Petley, our navigating officer, to the ebb tide flowing from the Otway Water. This channel is twenty miles in length, from its southern opening opposite Tilly Bay to its northern extremity abreast of Corona Island, where it dilates into the wide expanse of Otway Water. Its shores are lined by precipitous mountains of an average height of 1,000 feet, and clothed to their summits with the dense evergreen forest which characterizes the scenery of the western half of the Magellan Straits. Behind, and towering above this coast range, were hills of a still greater altitude, whose summits were clothed with a mantle of snow and ice—the source of the glaciers flowing to the southward into the main straits. As we entered Otway Water, we saw on our starboard hand a broad expanse of rippling water, limited in the distance by a coastline of comparatively low land, while on our port side there was a marked transition from the lofty mountains of the Cordillera to an upland plain of undulating hills covered with forest, and sloping gradually downwards into low flat land as it extended to the eastward. In fact, we had passed through the backbone of the Cordillera, and were now approaching the alluvial plains of Patagonia; and it was also clear to us that we were crossing the line of demarcation between two climatic zones, for we found that we were exchanging the cloudy sky of the Magellan region for brilliant sunshine and a clear blue sky, a change only to be fully appreciated by those who have spent many months in the damp, cloud-collecting region of the Western Straits.

The north shore of Otway Water was low and shelving, presenting a glistening margin of sandy beach, and fringed by a wide belt of very shallow water. In the afternoon we entered the Canal of Fitzroy, where we encountered a strong current from the northward (i.e., from Skyring Water), which considerably impeded our progress. Indeed, at 4 p.m. we grounded on a sandbank, getting off, however, without much difficulty, and in an hour afterwards we dropped anchor in a bight where an S-shaped curvature in the canal afforded us shelter from the current.

Both shores of the canal are low, and formed of alluvial soil, of which the crumbling banks in places exhibited good sections. Well-marked terrace-levels bore testimony to the fact that the land must have been subjected to upheaval, with reference to the sea-level, at some period in the world's history. The country on the western side of the canal is covered with thick scrubby bush, while that on the eastern side, where we landed for a few hours, was a sort of open park-land disposed in undulating hills, covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and studded here and there with isolated clumps of trees and bushes, among which we noticed the antarctic beech, an embothrium, a barberry, and a cheilobothrium. The ground in the middle of these clumps was worn bare from having been used as a resting-place by the wild cattle. Herbaceous composite plants grew in great profusion, and many specimens of a lychnis were seen, but unfortunately the season was too far advanced for our obtaining useful specimens of flowering plants. I was surprised at the great variety of grasses which flourished on the dark loamy soil. We saw countless tracks of wild cattle and horses, and a few deer tracks, but in the course of our ramble failed to meet with any of these animals. The existence of a species of Ctenomys was evident from the way in which the ground was in many places so riddled with holes as to be exceedingly dangerous for incautious horsemen; and while walking through the long grass I stumbled over the skull of a puma. We did not see many species of birds. Finches were abundant, and some flocks of the black starling, and also of the military starling, were seen. I got a specimen of a pteroptochus, which resembled the Tapaculo of Chili, but differed from it in having a red iris; and on the beach I shot a cinclodes, which seemed to be of a different species from the common kelp-bird of the straits. A fine buzzard (I think Buteo erythronotus) soared above my head, but out of range; and the tiny wren of Magellan (Troglodytes), completed the list of birds which we saw. During our absence great numbers of black-necked swans and brown ducks were seen in the vicinity of the ship.

The western shore of Fitzroy Channel consisted of a low plain, rising gradually towards the westward, covered with a dense scrub of tall bushes, and contrasting strikingly with the open moorland on the eastern shore.

At five o'clock on the following morning, we got under way and continued our course through the Canal of Fitzroy, steaming for hours through a dense interminable flock of black-necked swans, that paddled lazily to either side as we advanced, as yet in happy ignorance of the thirst for blood which characterizes the British sportsman. As we emerged from the canal, and skirted along the eastern shore of Skyring Water, we noticed two men on foot, walking along the beach. We afterwards learned that they had a day or two previously left the coal mine where they had been employed, and were now attempting the precarious task of travelling on foot to the Chilian settlement, Punta Arenas, in the Straits of Magellan, a distance of ninety miles.

At 10.30 a.m. we reached the bay of the mines (Rada de las Minas), and came to an anchor about half-a-mile from the shore. The settlement was larger than we had expected, and exhibited fair signs of activity, several shingle-built houses, large store sheds, and a steam sawmill, showing out conspicuously against the dark background of forest which spreads for a few miles to either side, and is seen extending inland to near the summit of Mount Rogers, a hill to the northward which reaches an elevation of 1,000 feet.

For information concerning Skyring Water, we are mainly indebted to Fitzroy's account of the short survey he made in the year 1829, when in command of H.M.S. Beagle (which account comprises information obtained from a sealer named Low, who visited these waters in pursuit of his trade), and to some papers published by the Chilian Government in the Anuario Hydrografico, detailing the results of two visits made by Chilian men-of-war. In November 1877 the Chilian gunboat Magellanes visited Skyring Water, making a stay of three weeks, during which time her boats were mainly employed in making a survey of the eastern part of the basin. The results of this survey, so far as it went, favoured the idea of there being a channel connecting Skyring Water with Smyth's Channel to the westward. It was brought to an abrupt termination by the terrible mutiny which took place at Sandy Point in November 1877; however, in the months of December 1878, and January and February 1879, Captain Latorre, of the corvette Magellanes, made a second incomplete examination of Skyring Water. One of his boat parties penetrated a considerable distance to the westward, where the basin is continuous with a number of long, narrow, winding inlets or channels, which enter the hills of the coast range. Here they met with a party of Fuegians, who were in all respects similar to those of the western channels, possessing the usual canoe and hunting implements. They also found numerous traces of Fuegians in all the sheltered coves which they examined among the inlets towards the western part of Skyring Water. This would seem to indicate a direct water communication with Smyth's Channel, but on the other hand, the range of tide being found to be exceedingly small, would tend to prove that its connection with the ocean was at all events remote. This survey was brought to a close in a most unsatisfactory way when almost on the eve of clearing up the doubtful question as to the existence of through communication; the Magellanes having been ordered north on the outbreak of the war between Chili and Peru.

The Skyring coal mines were originally started in the year 1877 by an enterprising German named Haase, who opened the seam, extracted some coal, and erected sheds, but soon afterwards (I believe through want of funds) abandoned the undertaking, so that when the Chilian corvette Magellanes arrived here in October 1877, the settlement was found to be in a deserted condition. Captain Latorre then made a trial of some coal which he found lying in a heap near the pit's mouth, and after executing a partial survey of Skyring Water was recalled to Sandy Point, on receiving news of a disastrous mutiny in that colony.

The settlement remained uninhabited from a few months before the Magellanes' first visit until the 15th of November, 1879, when the mine was reopened by Mr. Haase, provided with money, furnished by a company which had been formed at Buenos Ayres. Since that time the work has progressed steadily, so that the mine and adjoining works are now in a tolerably efficient state. At the time of our visit, the mines and the settlement were in charge of Monsieur Arnaud, a French engineer, Mr. Haase having some days previously gone on a trip to Buenos Ayres. The people numbered about twenty altogether; but as there were as yet no customers to buy the coal, and as consequently no wages had been paid for a long time back, the miners were gradually deserting and making tracks for Sandy Point.

The edge of the coal seam, which is now being worked, was visible in the face of a low cliff on the north-west promontory south of the bay of the mines. The outcrop of the seam is in a north and south direction, and it dips to the south-east at an angle of about 45°. From a cursory examination which I made of sections afforded by the cliffs adjoining the mines, I ascertained that the coal was overlain by a bed of clayey sandstone, overlying which was a stratum of hard limestone containing fossil shells, among which large OstrÆas were the most conspicuous. Above this, and lying conformably to it, was a layer of soft sandstone containing numerous comminuted fragments of shells in a sub-fossil state. The coal seam itself was about twelve feet thick.

The mine seemed to be in a most efficient state. A pit, sunk obliquely, descended to a depth of thirty-six feet, where it communicated with a horizontal cutting about sixty yards in length. At the end of this gallery the coal was being worked, whence it was conveyed in trolleys to the foot of the pit, and then hauled up the incline by means of a stationary engine working at the pit's mouth. From there a line of tram rails extended about 150 yards to the end of a strong wooden mole, where the water was deep enough to float heavy barges, and where a large pile was stored under a shed, and ready for shipment. It was of good black colour, but light and friable; very much resembling the Lota coal, to which it was little inferior in quality. A sample was taken on board, and submitted to various practical tests, by Mr. Dinwoodie, our chief engineer. It was of jet-black colour, and glistening appearance; leaving a faint black mark on rubbing. S.G. = 1·3. It contained sulphur and iron, burned with very little smoke, and produced a rust-coloured ash, which formed a proportion of 18 per cent. When used in the furnace, it formed large caky masses of a hard tenacious clinker, which adhered to the fire-bars, and so clogged the fires that it was found impossible to raise steam to more than thirty pounds' pressure. In an open grate it burnt freely enough, but without giving out much heat. It was, therefore, unsuited for engines using high pressure steam such as ours.

We were much disappointed on learning that game was now very scarce in the immediate vicinity of the settlement, and that as a matter of fact the miners were victualled on salt and preserved meats. Beyond a range of five miles, deer, guanacos, ostriches, and wild cattle might be had, but could not be taken without the aid of horses, with which useful animals the settlers were at present (apparently through pecuniary embarrassments) unprovided. Foxes were abundant in the forest, and at night time prowled about the settlement, while recently a puma had paid it a nocturnal visit, to the great alarm of the pigs and other domestic animals. We walked into the "camp," to a distance of about five miles from the settlement, and were surprised at the scarcity of birds. We saw, however, a flock of black-necked swans, numbering about sixty, in the water near the seashore, but found them too wary for us. A paroquet, a few starlings, a finch, a wren, a buzzard, and the ubiquitous cinclodes were the only land-birds seen. On subsequently penetrating into the forest in the rear of the settlement, I saw many examples of a bird of the "tree-creeper" family, which the Chilians call "carpintero," from its habit of making a "tap-tap" sound when digging its bill against the bark of trees, in pursuit of the insect-larva on which it feeds. These birds behave in many respects like wood-peckers, producing a similar noise, using the same food, travelling over the boles of the trees in a spiral fashion, and creeping with ease along the under surface of horizontal branches. I shot two of them when in the position last-mentioned, and noticed that for some seconds after they had been shot they remained suspended by the legs, with the heads hanging vertically downwards, until the complete relaxation of the muscles allowed them to fall. The toes, of which there are three directed forwards and one backwards, are furnished with long and sharp claws. The bill is long, stout, and pyramidal, and the shafts of the tail-feathers project beyond the webs.

On the 7th of March, a small party of us got the use of one of the steam-cutters, and made a trip to Altamirano Bay, an anchorage about seven miles to the westward of the "bay of the mines," which was originally explored and surveyed by the Chilian vessel Magellanes. We reached the bay after steaming for two hours against a westerly breeze and chopping sea, and landed on its western shore. Here we found an open grass-land interspersed with clumps of low trees and bushes, among which the most abundant were an embothrium, a panax, an escallonia, a berberis, a cheilobothrium, and the black currant of Magellan—the Ribes magellanica. The tree-clumps showed evident signs of their being the resting-places of wild cattle and horses, of which we saw also numerous tracks in the open; none, however, being of recent date. We could find no fresh water of any kind, and therefore concluded that the deer, guanacos, ostriches, and horses, which were reported to be abundant here, had gone up the hills during this dry season, and only resorted to the lowlands hereabouts during the winter time. There was certainly splendid pasturage for them, and I was much struck by the abundance and variety of the grasses. The land-birds were similar to those noticed previously in the neighbourhood of the coal mines. The plain of grass-covered land over which we walked seemed to extend for a long way to the westward, but from the head of the bay a dense forest of beech-trees stretched away to the northward.

Skirting the shore of the bay, although overgrown with scrub and forest, were two distinct terraced levels, which testified to an upraising of the land. The rock formation, as far as could be judged from the rock in situ visible on the foreshore, was a clayey sandstone, devoid of fossils, and bedded horizontally. Erratic boulders of syenite and gneiss—some of considerable size—lay scattered about the beach.

The shores of the bay indicated a scanty littoral marine fauna. Shells of a small mussel were sparsely strewn about, and were the only molluscan remains noticed. The dÉbris of a small, reddish alga was strewn along the beach in undulating lines; but no kelp was seen at all, either on the shore or adhering to submerged rocks.

During our four hours' stay, very little change was noticed in the level of the tide, an argument rather against the likelihood of a channel existing to connect Skyring Water with the ocean to the westward.

In the meantime those on board the ship were engaged in coaling. We purchased twenty-five tons of the new coal at £1 a ton, a quantity quite sufficient to enable us to test practically its value. The mining engineer, Monsieur Arnaud, was of opinion that on sinking deeper into the coal-seam a better quality would be met with. The present workings are at a depth of only thirty-six feet from the surface, and as the angle of dip is about 45°, it is not improbable that on sinking a deeper shaft his expectations may be realized. Should this be the case, the long-cherished scheme of establishing tug-steamers in the straits to tow sailing vessels from ocean to ocean, will probably be revived, and a great impetus will thus be given to the Straits of Magellan as an avenue for commerce. Moreover, should a permanent settlement be established at the Skyring Water coal mines, intending colonists will find in the surrounding country a splendid field for their energies. The soil of the pampas is of excellent quality, for from its proximity to the Cordillera, where the eastern drifting Pacific clouds deposit their watery contents, it receives enough moisture to remove from it that arid dryness which has rendered the eastern part of Patagonia unsuited for the agriculturist. There is at present excellent pasturage for cattle, and from all that we know of the climate, I see no reason why cereal crops should not flourish. The day, I trust, is not far distant when this part of Western Patagonia will prove a fertile field of labour for the stock farmer and the agriculturist.

On the afternoon of the 8th of March we again weighed anchor, and steamed over to the Fitzroy Channel, anchoring for the night at a place in the fairway about five miles from the north entrance. Some of our officers were now employed for an hour or two in sounding out the channel, while others, more fortunate, amused themselves by waging war against the brown ducks (Anas cristata), and black-necked swans (Cygnus nigricollis), which were abundant enough, but more wary than on our first meeting them. I did not see a single specimen of the Cygnus coscoroba. On the western, or Fuegian shore, the recent tracks of a deer were seen by one of our party.

We got under way early on the following morning, and after passing through the Fitzroy Channel, recrossed Otway Water, and re-entered the Jerome Channel. On the south shore of this latter we noticed a large fur seal "rookery" (i.e., breeding place), and stopped to examine it for some minutes. There were about thirty large seals hauled up on the rocks, besides a large number that were swimming about in the adjoining water. Some of those on the rock were hauled up about thirty feet above the sea-level. We fired a shell into their midst at about 800 yards range, which had the effect of making them tumble off hurriedly into the water, where they made a great tumult, turning somersaults and jumping clear out of the water, after the usual manner of fur seals. The seals in this rookery were probably congregated for the hair-shedding season. Later in the evening we reached our former anchorage in Tilly Bay, where we came to an anchor for the night.

Swallow Bay, 11th to 24th of March.—We steamed over to this anchorage, which lies a few miles to the west of Tilly Bay, in continuation of our surveying work. A most curious and interesting fish (Neophrynichthys latus) was here obtained. It was brought to me by one of our seamen, who found it lying dead on the beach, and bearing marks of having been torn by vultures. Of this fish, which was discovered by Mr. Hutton a few years ago in New Zealand, Dr. GÜnther says that it only differs from the New Zealand specimen in colouration, and in the presence of small tentacles, which are developed over the eye and on some parts of the body.

One day, when paddling round a small rocky islet, we saw perched on a stone, and apparently sleeping, as it remained motionless with bill resting on the stone, a large snipe (Gallinago stricklandi), one of the very few examples of the species which were observed during our cruise. It was shot and preserved.

Two mammalians were also obtained at Swallow Bay. One was the common Magellan otter (Lutra felina), the other a nutria (Myopotamus coypu).

On March 25th, our supply of coal running short, it was decided to conclude our survey of Magellan Straits, and to proceed northwards, vi Smyth's Channel, to Puerto Bueno. There we took on board the residue of a depÔt of coal which had been made for us during the previous season, and continued to pursue our way northwards, stopping for the nights at various anchorages. On April 2nd, we passed our old cruising ground in the Trinidad Channel, and entered Wide Channel, proceeding from thence vi Indian Reach.

As we passed the entrance of Icy Inlet, we saw large patches of loose berg-ice floating tranquilly over its surface, and evidently derived from the glacier at its head. Contrary to our expectations, Eyre Sound was almost clear of ice, only a single small floating piece being seen; but to repay us for this disappointment we had a fine view of the magnificent glacier at its head.

Port Riofrio, 3rd to 10th of April.—We were detained for a week at this port, while our surveyors were occupied in examining the rocks and islets of the neighbouring "Covadonga Group," of which the survey—commenced by the Chilians—was as yet incomplete. Port Riofrio is situated on the eastern side of Wellington Island, and derives its name from a large mountain torrent which pours its water into the bay nearly opposite to the entrance, for which it also forms one of the principal leading marks. On the western side of the anchorage, and forming a sort of mighty dam across the valley through which this torrent flows, is a remarkable raised beach, whose brow stretches horizontally from ridge to ridge, its continuity being only broken by a narrow fissure through which the torrent rushes, descending thence by a series of cascades to the sea. Inside this barrier the land slopes gradually but slightly downward to an extensive plateau, which forms the bed of the valley between the two mountain ranges. Opinions differed on board as to whether this barrier was a raised beach or an old terminal moraine; but I inclined to the former view, from the fact of its brow being so regular and horizontal, from its stretching evenly from hill to hill, from the absence of any vestige of lateral moraine on the hillsides, and from the slight difference in actual level between the brow of the barrier and the general surface of the plain within. It was covered with the usual swampy soilcap, and the plain was for the most part occupied by an extensive swamp. Here I collected fine fruiting specimens of a handsome velvety moss, Tetraplodon mnioides, of a rich green colour, which I have before alluded to as forming curious tufts on the summits of boulders, on rocky pinnacles, and on the stumps of dead trees.

On the shores of this anchorage grew several plants which we had not previously seen in the Straits. Among these was the Mitraria coccinea, a climbing shrub, easily recognised by its dark-green glossy ovate-acute leaves, and short tubular scarlet flowers. Another was the Weinmannia trichosperma, a tall erect shrub with serrated pinnate leaves, and jointed petioles winged in a curious rhomboidal fashion. I was in hopes of finding here the beautiful Hymenophyllum cruentum, which we obtained last year at an island in the English Narrows, some miles to the northward, but was disappointed, its range probably not extending so far south.

Two animals new to science were here obtained, viz., a small frog of a dirty yellow colour, which has since been described by Dr. GÜnther as a new species of "Cacotus," and an Uncinated calamary, which has since been examined by Mr. Edgar Smith, and found to represent a new species, to which he assigns the name "Onychoteuthis ingens." The last-mentioned specimen was found stranded on the beach. The body, from oral aperture to extremity of caudal appendage, measured fifteen inches, and the total length from caudal appendage to anterior extremity of tentacles was two feet nine inches. The tentacular hooks were very formidable. No other example of this species of squid was encountered.

Having completed the survey of the Covadonga Group, we again proceeded on our way northwards. On the first night we stopped at Gray Harbour, a port immediately to the northward of the English Narrows. As soon as we had anchored, Lieutenant Rooper and I took advantage of the few remaining hours of twilight and started off in the skiff, directing our course towards the head of the bay, where a fair-sized river entered the sea. We proceeded up the river for about a quarter of a mile, finding its banks composed of a bluish clay, and passing at its mouth a low triangular island, which seemed to be a delta formed of clay and sand washed down from the hills, and piled up here at the outlet where the fresh-water flow was dammed up in a measure by its contact with the sea. On the pebbly shores of the river we picked up several specimens of a pond snail—a species of Chilinia, I believe; and on working a light dredge in mid-stream, we obtained many more specimens of the same. The location was one eminently suggestive of the haunts of otters, nutria, and waterfowl, but not a solitary animal of the kind was to be seen. The disappointment, however, was one which our experience of similar and equally tempting localities had taught us to be prepared for. The surrounding country bore recent signs of having been devastated by a great fire, the mountain sides for miles being covered with the charred remains of a dense forest.

Owing to its proximity to the English Narrows, Gray Harbour is probably frequently used as a stopping place by passing steamers, whose occupants amuse themselves by firing the forest. It is rarely indeed in this habitually wet region that the forest is sufficiently dry to allow a fire to spread over any great extent of country.

We got under way at an early hour on the following morning (April 11th). It was a fine clear day, and the channels showed to great advantage, so that we were able once more to confirm the remark of old Pigafetta, that in fine weather there is in no part of the world scenery more lovely. At about four o'clock in the afternoon we anchored at Hale Cove, a port situated close to the northern outlet of the Patagonian Channels, and here for the last time we anchored in Patagonian waters. Rain awnings were now stowed away, top-gallant masts were sent up, boats were topped and lashed, and all other requisite arrangements were made for our final departure from the Magellan region, and for encountering the long heavy ocean swell which we were sure to find awaiting us to seaward.

I had a run on shore for a few hours before nightfall, and was much gratified at finding two plants which I had not previously met with in these channels. One was a tall branching fern of the genus Alsophila, whose long slender woody stems, rising obliquely from the ground to a height of six feet, were crowned with a magnificent spray of dark-green glossy fronds. The other was a shrub of creeping habit, probably of the family VacciniaceÆ, with smooth ovate-acute leaves resembling those of the laurel, and bearing clusters of an egg-shaped fruit. No flowering specimens were seen. The trunks of the large trees were clothed with the beautiful fronds of the delicate Hymenophyllum cruentum, which here grows in great abundance. On the morning of the 12th of April we bade a final adieu to the Patagonian Channels.

During our passage northwards along the Chilian coast, sea-birds of various kinds hovered round us. Of these our most constant companions were the Cape pigeons (Daption capensis), albatrosses of two species (Diomedea fuliginosa and D. melanophrys), a small storm petrel (Oceanites grallaria), a Fulmar petrel (Thalassoeca glacialoides), and a white-breasted petrel (Œstrelata defilippiana). A brown skua (Lestris antarctica) appeared on the scene now and then, creating consternation among the smaller petrels.

We arrived at Talcahuano, one of the most interesting of the Chilian ports, on the morning of the 20th of April, and were surprised and grieved to hear that a severe epidemic of small-pox prevailed at the town of Concepcion, some nine miles inland. The epidemic had begun in January, and we were informed by Mr. Elton, the British Vice-Consul, that since then no less than 1,500 deaths had occurred, the mortality of those attacked having been at the extraordinarily high rate of 90 per cent. Ominous rumours reaching us as to the epidemic having already extended to Talcahuano, our stay was wisely cut short, and the vessel was moved on to Valparaiso, and subsequently after a short stay to Coquimbo.

The passage from Valparaiso to Coquimbo occupied two days. As we were sitting at dinner on the evening of the 3rd of May, the officer of the watch reported that the ship was moving through patches of light-coloured stuff resembling shoal water. On going on deck, we saw wavy bands of straw-coloured water, about one hundred yards in length by twenty in width, which were plainly visible through the gloom of the night, the light-coloured patches having distinctly circumscribed margins, which showed out clearly against the surrounding dark water. At the same time, the sea in our wake was brilliantly phosphorescent. On plying the tow-net for a few minutes, I obtained a quantity of entomostracous crustaceans, and mingled with them a number of milk-coloured annelids, a species of Tomopteris, about one-eighth of an inch in length. A fringe of lateral appendages bordered its long, slender body, from whose anterior extremity projected two long antennÆ, curving gracefully upwards and backwards. There were fifteen pairs of parapodia, the ends of which were furnished with tufts of cirri, which acted as swimming paddles for propulsion.

Our stay at Coquimbo this season extended from the 4th of May to the 14th of June, having been somewhat prolonged owing to the occurrence of a case of small-pox on board. Our principal amusement consisted in shooting excursions after the golden plover, or "pachuros," as the Chilians call them. These birds frequent the sandy plains, which form an elevated table-land, fringing the bases of the coast range of hills. One of our shooting-grounds was on a rather bare plain, encircling the base of a pyramidal hill called the Pan de Azucar, which lay at a distance of about eight miles from Coquimbo. It was a great undulating plain of waste sandy ground, with stunted shrubs growing here and there, but not affording any cover. Walking over it was laborious, for the ground was almost everywhere riddled with the burrows of the upucerthia, a sort of ant-thrush, which seems to make extensive underground tunnels in search of insect larvÆ. I obtained a specimen, and found its stomach crammed full of insects. This bird is smaller than the U. dumetaria, and has a much shorter bill; moreover, in flying, the secondary feathers, which are of a brick-red colour, are very conspicuous. Sometimes, when walking over a riddled patch of ground, one heard a curious half-smothered "took, took," not unlike the cry of a ctenomys; and on treading firmly over the place from whence the noise seemed to issue, no sound would be audible for a minute or two, when the same noise would go on again from a place a yard or so away. The bird, of course, had moved along, for the tunnels communicate so that it is able to travel underground over a considerable area. The burrows of the ctenomys are larger and otherwise different from those now referred to. At the time of our visit the birds were not at all shy, allowing one to approach within a few yards of them. These are gregarious—at least at this time of the year—moving in flocks from place to place over the sandy plain; and it was sometimes rather astonishing to see a flock suddenly emerge from a number of burrow openings, and rise on the wing from a bare sandy patch of ground, where a moment previously there had been no sign of life.