Except when breeding the Bienteveo is a peaceful bird, never going out of its way to make gratuitous attacks on individuals of its own or of other species; but in the pursuit of its prey it is cunning, bold, and fierce. Like the true Tyrant-birds it preys a great deal on large insects when they are abundant in the warm season, and is frequently seen catching its prey in the air. A large beetle or grasshopper it invariably beats against a branch before devouring it. But even in summer, when insect prey is most abundant, it prefers a more substantial diet whenever such is to be had. It frequently carries off the fledglings of the smaller birds from their nests, in the face of the brave defence often made by the parents. It is also fond of fishing, and may be seen perched by the hour on a bank or overhanging branch beside a stream, watching the water like a Kingfisher, and at intervals dashing down to capture the small fry. In shallow pools, where there are tadpoles and other prey, the Bienteveo does not mind getting a little wet, but alights in the water and stands belly-deep watching for its prey. I have seen a Bienteveo standing in the water in the midst of a flock of Glossy Ibises. They are often seen, as Darwin remarks, hovering like a Kestrel over the grass, and then dashing down to seize their prey. Small snakes, frogs, mice, and lizards all minister to its appetite, and with a capture of this kind it invariably flies to the nearest stone or branch, against which it beats the life of its victim out before devouring it. I once saw one fly out of some weeds carrying a little wriggling snake of a very brittle species and about eight inches long in its beak. Alighting on a gate it proceeded to kill its capture, and at the first blow on the wood the snake flew into two pieces. A mouse gives it a great deal of trouble, for after it has been killed it cannot be devoured until reduced by repeated blows to a soft pulp, after which it is with great labour pulled to pieces and eaten. Snails and _Ampullariæ_ are also pounded until the shell breaks. In spring they sometimes join the train of hooded gulls, guira cuckoos, cow-birds, and various other kinds which follow the plough to pick up worms and larvæ; but on the ground the Bienteveo is awkward in its motions, for it cannot run like the Tyrant-birds with terrestrial habits, but only hops. At estancia houses, when a cow is slaughtered, it comes in with the fowls, milvago hawks, and dogs, for small pickings, being very fond of fresh meat. It is a common thing to see a Bienteveo following a rural butcher's cart, and waiting for an opportunity to dash in and carry off any small piece of meat or fat it is able to detach. In the autumn they feed very much on ripe fruit, preferring grapes, which they can swallow whole, and figs, which are soft and easily eaten.