The
bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road
or stream. Here (at Bahia Blanca) the walls round the houses are
built of hardened mud, and I noticed that one, which enclosed a
courtyard where I lodged, was bored through by round holes in a
score of places. On asking the owner the cause of this, he bitterly
complained of the little casarita, several of which I afterwards
observed at work. It is rather curious to find how incapable these
birds must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although
they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued
vainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their
nests. I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to
daylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the
marvellous fact.
I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in this
country. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the Dasypus
minutus or pichy, the D. villosus or peludo, and the apar. The
first extends ten degrees farther south than any other kind; a
fourth species, the Mulita, does not come as far south as Bahia
Blanca. The four species have nearly similar habits; the peludo,
however, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day over the open
plains, feeding on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes.
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