Case file · Folklore / legend
The Alicanto of Chañarcillo
The Alicanto is a bird of Atacama miners' lore whose wings shine gold or silver from the metals it eats; following it leads to a rich vein, but a greedy prospector is led off a cliff.
1832 CE · -27.85, -70.43 · status: legend
The account
The legend is strongly tied to the great silver rush of Chañarcillo, which began in May 1832 when the woodcutter Juan Godoy found the outcrop (the year used here is the setting). Miners said they saw the bird glowing at night on the hills.
The sceptical view
A miners' legend; luminous 'birds' may be marsh-gas-like lights or reflections on mineral outcrops.