A great number of birds occur in Chili which are com mon throughout Europe ; such as kites, falcons, herons, gulls, swans, geese, ducks, plovers, crows, pigeons, par tridges, and domestic fowls. Some of these are found in many varieties, but we shall notice only two: the royal duck, which is distinguished by its superior size, a large red comb which adorns its head, and a ring of tvhite leathers about its neck ; and the red-headed heron, whose plumage is of a pure white, except the beautiful crest, which affords its descriptive appellation. Partridges are said to be so extremely numerous, that the muleteers of St Jago, without almost needing to step aside from the road, knock them down in great numbers with their cudgels, and carry them for sale to Valparaiso. Of car nivorous birds, are the jots of the vulture tribe ; the tharu, a kind of eagle, which instead of pursuing seizes its prey by stratagem ; the pequen, a small owl, remark able for the extensive burrows which it forms under ground, where it also deposits and hatches its eggs : But the principal of this tribe is the condor, in Chili called manque, which, from its enormous strength and rapacity, proves often extremely injurious in its depreda tions. Besides preying on sheep and goats, several of them will seize upon a calf, scoop out its eyes with their beaks, and instantly tear it in pieces. This bird is taken by a very simple contrivance. A peasant extend ed upon his back covers himself with the fresh hide of an ox, while others conceal themselves at a short dis tance; and when the condor, in expectation of a repast, alights upon the skin, its legs are immediately seized and held fast, till the assistants rushing forward, over power it with their clubs. The American ostrich dif fers from that of Africa, in having three toes in place of two, and in being entirely destitute of any horny sub stance upon its wings, and of callosities, on the sternum. It is inferior also in size, but fully its equal in voracity, and will swallow iron if presented. Parrots, particularly the species named jaguilma, are remarkably numerous, and frequently lay waste the fields to a great extent : Fortunately they do not arrive from the Andes till after harvest, and in compensation, their flesh affords a deli cious food to the inhabitants. Among birds of song, the thence stands incomparably the first, both for the sweet ness and variety of its music. In allusion to the last property, it has been called, in Mexico, the centzontlato tle, or the four hundred tongues. Its song gives the idea of a great number of birds uniting their voices in the most perfect harmony. The sprightly and active disposition of this bird cannot be reconciled to captivity, where it pines and dies. The cureu is another of the thrush kind, which,. besides its great powers of music and imitation, is remarkable for the singular propensity which it sometimes exhibits of destroying smaller birds, in order to feast upon their brains. There are three species of the humming bird, all of the most dazzling splendour, and some of them extremely diminutive : the smallest weighs only two grains. Among the aquatic birds, we may notice a species of pelican, whose sack, from its transparency, is employed for lanterns. The flamingo, which, from the length and formation of its legs, is unable, after the manlier of other birds, to cover its eggs by stooping ; but, when hatching them, has the ludicrous appearance of sitting upon a chair, the nest for its accommodation being raised in a conical form. The pillu, a kind of ibis, which is about the size of a goose, and remarkable for the length of its legs, which measure upwards of two feet and a half ; and the penguin, of which there are several varieties.
Though it has been observed, in general, that the ani mal productions of Chili are less numerous than those of other countries in America, the remark does not hold in the case of fishes, which are found every where along the coast, and in the rivers in immense variety and profusion. Exclusive of the fresh water kinds, the fish ermen are acquainted with 76 species of esculent fish, most of which are peculiar, and entirely unknown in the northern ocean. Those most in request are the robalo
and the corvino, both white in their flesh, and of a delicious flavour. The lisa, which in form and taste resembles the mullet, and the king's fish, so named from the excellence of its flavour. The tollo is rcinakablc for two spines of a triangular shape, very hard and crooked at the point ; which are mentioned as a powerful remedy for the toothach ; the effect is simply produced by the application of one of these points to the diseased tooth. The following are common to other seas, the skate, the ray, the torpedo, the cod, the sole, the whit ing, the turbot, the tunny and the mackerel ; the barbet, the mullet, the anchovy, the electrical eel, and the sword fish. At The islands of Juan Fernandez the cod is as plentiful and as readily taken as on the banks of New foundland. It has lately also been fished with success on the coast of Valparaiso, where it arrives in large shoals, during the months of November and December. The fresh waters of Chili supply fish in less variety, but in still greater numbers than the ocean. Of these, the finest are the trout, the cauqui, the malche, the yuli, the cunzarca, the lisa, which is of the same species with the salt water fish of that name already noticed, but of a superior quality ; and the bagrc, whose flesh is yellow, and of all others the most esteemed as a delicacy. Chili affords a great number of crabs and cravfish, remarka ble for their size and goodness ; oysters, muscles, cocks. barnacles, and several species of molluscas. There is also a kind of erotic fish, individuals of which have been caught of a hundred and fifty pounds weight. Eels arc confined to the provinces of Araucania, where they are taken in great abundance. In the river Talton is found a small fish called paye, which is represented by the natives as so extremely transparent. that any object placed under several of these animals piled the one above the other, would still remain perfectly visible. " If this property," says Molina, " is not greatly exaggerated, the paye might serve to discover the secret progress of digestion, and the motion of the fluids." Whales, equal in size to those of the northern ocean, make their ap pearance in great numbers in quest of fish, at the mouths of the Chilian rivers. Molina was himself witness to the dimensions of one of these animals, which had been cast ashore on the coast of the Chones, and which measured 96 feet in length.
Chili contains but few reptiles ; these are the salt and fresh water turtles, lizards, frogs, toads, and a species of serpent, not exceeding three feet in length, which is perfectly harmless. Various incredible relations have been propagated of an immense water serpent, which is said to prey upon men and the larger animals, hut have received little countenance from the more respectable authorities.
Of the insect tribe, we may notice a kind of chry somela, which is of a bright golden colour, and when strung together like beads, is used by the inhabitants for necklaces and other ornaments; caterpillars, one of which, found between the rivers Rapel and Meta quito, produces a silk not inferior to that of Europe ; a species of water-fiy, which, from its agreeable musky odour, the inhabitants make use of to perfume their clothes. There are likewise bees, ants, scorpions, glow worms, a single species of grasshopper, and a few beetles. Chili is neither infested with gnats, wasps, nor mosquitoes. Molina describes a spider, which he says is the only one known in the country, grows to the size of a hen's egg, and is quite inoffensive. Byron, however, mentions in his Narrati‘e, a large venomous spider, whose bite will prove mortal, if pro per remedies arc not speedily applied. He was him self bit by one or them on the face, t‘ hile at St Jago, and his whole cheek, in consequence, became per fectly black. The poison was extracted, he tells us, by the application of a bluish coloured stone, which sticks of itself to the wound, and drops off when satu rated.