The Voyage of the Beagle · Chapter
Maldonado explained
Darwin describes his stay in Maldonado, Uruguay, including the town's quiet, forlorn character, the surrounding plains, and an excursion to the Rio Polanco.
What happens
Darwin describes his stay in Maldonado, Uruguay, including the town's quiet, forlorn character, the surrounding plains, and an excursion to the Rio Polanco. He details the local wildlife, such as the capybara, tucutuco, and various birds, and reflects on the absence of trees, linking it to climate and prevailing winds. He also observes the habits of carrion-feeding hawks and notes the lack of indigenous people, with only stone heaps on the Sierra de las Animas as remnants.
Themes in this chapter
Exploration and Discovery
Darwin's ten-week stay in Maldonado and his excursion to the Rio Polanco allowed him to collect a nearly perfect set of local animals, birds, and reptiles, contributing to his broader natural history survey.
Human Impact on Environment
Darwin notes the absence of trees in the Banda Oriental, speculating on causes such as wind, drainage, and moisture, while also observing that introduced species like poplars and peaches thrive, indicating human modification of the landscape.
Natural Selection and Adaptation
Darwin observes the carrion-feeding habits of the Carrancha and Chimango, noting their adaptation to scavenging in the absence of Northern Hemisphere crows and ravens, and the fine differences in habits between similar bird species.
Characters to notice
- Azara
Cited as a high authority on the feeding habits of the Carrancha.
- Captain Head
Referenced for his description of the Carrancha and Chimango harassing horses and mules.
- Mr. Gould
Identified two distinct species of a bird based on specimens, confirming Darwin's observation of slight differences in habits.
Key passages
“Maldonado is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not very far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most quiet, forlorn, little town; built, as is universally the case in these countries, with the streets running at right angles to each other, and having in the middle a large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the scantiness of the population more evident.”
Maldonado is a small, sleepy town on the north shore of the Plata estuary, laid out in a grid pattern with a disproportionately large central square that highlights how few people live there.
Darwin describes the town's layout and sparse population.
“The general, and almost entire absence of trees in Banda Oriental is remarkable.”
It is striking how few trees there are in the Banda Oriental region.
Darwin notes the treeless landscape as a notable feature.
“These false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or animal; and their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very evident to anyone who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of Patagonia, for when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil eye.”
These so-called eagles seldom hunt live prey; instead, they scavenge like vultures, a fact that becomes clear to anyone who naps on the Patagonian plains and wakes to find them perched on nearby mounds, watching intently.
Darwin describes the scavenging behavior of the Carrancha.