chakar

The heavenward flight of a large bird is always a magnificent spectacle; that of the chakar is peculiarly fascinating on account of the resounding notes it sings while soaring, and in which the bird seems to exult in its sublime power and freedom.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

With the chakar the sexes are faithful, even in very large flocks the birds all being ranged in couples.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

_Screamer_ being a misnomer, I prefer to call the bird by its vernacular name of _chajá, _ or _chakar_, a more convenient spelling.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

The man had a swarthy, beardless face, and it was conjectured that the chakar associated him in its mind with the savages who had destroyed its early home.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

The intelligence, docility, and attachment to man displayed by the chakar in a domestic state, with perhaps other latent aptitudes only waiting to be developed by artificial selection, seem to make this species one peculiarly suited for man's protection, without which it must inevitably perish.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

For some weeks after the invasion the chakar wandered about the country, visiting all the ruined estancias, apparently in quest of human beings, and on arriving at Mangrullos, which had not been burnt and was still inhabited, it settled down at ones and never afterwards showed any disposition to go away.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

But the chakar country is just now in a transitional state, and the precise conditions which made it possible for birds so large in size to form such immense congregations are rapidly passing away.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

When taken young the chakar becomes very tame and attached to man, showing no inclination to go back to a wild life.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

The chakar leaves its grass-plot after feeding and soars purely for recreation, taking so much pleasure in its aerial exercises that in bright warm weather, in winter and spring, it spends a great part of the day in the upper regions of the air.

The Naturalist in La Plata 1881