Part iv
. 1836, p. 88.
This bird has a considerable range. I procured specimens of it near Rio de Janeiro, on the banks of the Plata, throughout Patagonia, in Tierra del Fuego, where it is one of the commonest birds, and likewise in Central Chile: its habits resemble very closely those of the common Troglodytes of England. In the open country near Bahia Blanca it lived amongst the thickets and coarse herbage in the valleys; in Tierra del Fuego, in the outskirts of the forest. Its chirp is harsh. In Chile I saw one in October building its nest in a hole in a stone wall, in a situation such as would have been chosen by our Troglodytes.
2. TROGLODYTES PLATENSIS. _Gmel._
I procured specimens of this bird from Bahia Blanca, in Northern Patagonia, and likewise from the Falkland Islands, where it is not uncommon. When first killed, its legs and beak appear of larger size, compared to its body, than in other species of this genus. In the Falkland Islands it lives, almost exclusively, close to the ground, in the coarse grass which springs from the peaty soil. I do not think I ever saw a bird which, when it chose to remain concealed, was so difficult to disturb. I have frequently marked one down to within a yard on the open grassy plain, and afterwards have endeavoured, quite in vain, by walking backwards and forwards, over the same spot, to obtain another sight of it.
1. SYNALLAXIS HUMICOLA. _Kittl._
S. humicola, _Kittl._ Mem. de l’Acad. St. Peters, i. pl. 6.—_Id._ Vog. von Chili, p. 13, pl. vi.
Not uncommon in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso. Kittlitz has well described its habits. He says it lives on the ground under thickets, that it is active in running about, and that it readily flies from bush to bush. It holds its tail upright; utters a shrill, quickly reiterated cry; feeds on insects; but Kittlitz found in the stomach chiefly grains and berries, with little stones. From these circumstances, he conceives that this bird shews some affinity with Pteroptochos, but I feel no doubt that in the form of its beak, wings, tail, manner of carrying the latter, kind of plumage, sound of voice and habits, the relationship is much closer with Eremobius, which perhaps it may be considered as representing on the Pacific side of the Cordillera. Its tongue is furnished with bristly points, but apparently is less deeply bifid than in the other species of Synallaxis or Limnornis. I obtained both sexes, but there is no difference in their plumage.
For the reason just given, I have put this species at the head of its genus, and therefore nearest to Eremobius, although it is impossible to represent by a linear arrangement, the multiplied relations between the following genera—Furnarius, Uppucerthia, Opetiorhynchus, Eremobius, Anumbius, Synallaxis, Limnornis, Oxyurus; and again, Rhynomya, Pteroptochos, Scytalopus, and Troglodytes, which, with the exception of the last, are strictly South American forms.
2. SYNALLAXIS MAJOR. _Gould._
PLATE XXII.
_S. olivaceo fuscus; infra fulvus albo distinctè maculatus; plumis singulis stria obscura centrali notatis; fronte rufo, remigibus fuscis, cinereo-fusco externè maculatis, tertiariis nigro fuscis apice margineque latè cinereo-fuscis; gulâ albâ, plumarum flavescentium serie fusco maculatarum circumdatâ._
Long. tot. 8 unc.; _rost._ 1; _alæ_, 3¼; _caudæ_, 4; _tarsi_, 1.
Forehead rufous; crown of the head, back of the neck and back olive brown, with a conspicuous stripe of blackish brown down the centre of each feather; wing-coverts and lower part of the back olive brown, with a faint trace of the dark patch in the centre of each feather; primaries brown, margined externally with greyish brown; spurious wing and secondaries rufous tipped with brown; tertiaries blackish brown broadly margined and tipped with greyish brown; two centre tail feathers dark olive brown; the remainder blackish brown largely tipped with white; throat white encircled with a series of feathers of a buff colour spotted with dark brown; breast and all the under surface tawny indistinctly blotched with white; tarsi with a very pale blue tinge.
Habitat, Maldonado, north bank of La Plata. (_June_).
This bird is not very common. Those which I saw lived on the ground in dry and open places, and did not frequent the neighbourhood of lakes abounding with rushes or thickets, like the greater number of species of Synallaxis, and the allied genus Limnornis. The flight of this bird is peculiar, which seems chiefly due to the length of its elegantly acuminated tail. It sometimes alights and rests on the summit of a thistle or twig, a habit different from that of any species of the genus which I have seen. Its manner of living and feeding on the ground might have been suspected, from the length of the soft secondaries, like those of a lark or of _Furnarius cunicularius_. The claws also of the front toes are produced and perhaps they are rather straighter than in other members of the family. The tongue is bifid and divided into bristly points. The nest, of which I have seen two, is very peculiar. It is cylindrical, about two feet long, and placed vertically in the middle of a thick bush in an exposed situation. It is made externally of prickly branches, and is very large compared with the size of the bird. The opening is at the upper extremity, from which a passage leads to the true nest, which is lined with feathers and hairs. There is a slight bend in the passage both at its exit and where it enters the nest.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 22._
_Synallaxis major._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 23._
_Synallaxis rufogularis._ ]
3. SYNALLAXIS RUFOGULARIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXIII.
_S. olivaceo fuscus plumis singulis maculâ oblongâ fusco nigrâ; remigibus primariis secundariisque basi ferrugineo fuscis, apice nigro fuscis, flavescenti albo marginatis; lineâ superciliari, mento abdomineque medio flavescenti albis; gulâ ferrugineo fuscâ; pectore fulvescenti fusco, plumis singulis striâ pallidiore centrali ornatis._
Long. tot. 6½ unc.; _rost._ ⅞; _alæ_, 3; _caudæ_, 3¼; _tarsi_, 1.
Head and all the upper surface and two centre tail feathers, brown, with a large oblong patch of brownish black down the centre of each feather; primaries, except the three outer ones, bounded posteriorly with an irregular line of black; secondaries, rusty brown at the base, and brown for the remainder of their length, margined all round with greyish olive; lateral tail feathers brownish black, largely tipped with tawny white; stripe from the nostrils over each eye, chin, and centre of the abdomen, pale buff; sides of the face and throat grey, with a spot of dark brown down the centre of each feather; in the centre of the throat, a patch of ferruginous brown; chest, pale brownish buff, with a fine pale stripe down each feather; bill and feet brown.
Habitat, Patagonia. (_April._) Valparaiso. (_September._)
These birds are not uncommon on the dry rocky mountains near Valparaiso, and in the valleys of southern Patagonia, where a few thickets grow. They hop actively about the withered herbage and low thickets, and often feed on the ground. The hind claw is weaker and straighter than in most of the other species of this genus.
4. SYNALLAXIS MALUROIDES.
S. maluroides. _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Voy de l’Amer. Mer. Ois. pl. xiv, f. 2. Mag. de Zool. 1837, Cl. 11, pl. 22.
My specimens were shot near Maldonado. Iris yellow; tarsi very pale coloured.
This species, as well as some others of Synallaxis, Anumbius, and Limnornis, live amongst reeds and other aquatic plants on the borders of lakes, and have the same general habits. I will, therefore, here describe them. They all have the power of crawling very quickly by the aid of their powerful claws and feet, as I soon discovered when they were not killed at once, for then it was scarcely possible to catch them. Their soft tail-feathers show signs of being used, but they never apply them, as the Certhias do, as a means of supporting their bodies. The tail-feathers were (at least during June) so loosely attached, that I seldom procured a specimen with all of them perfect; and I saw many (especially of _S. maluroides_), flying about with no tail. All the species, or nearly all, utter an acute, but not loud, rapidly reiterated cry. They are active and busily seek for small insects, chiefly Coleoptera, in the coarse herbage. The iris in all is rusty red; the tongue is divided and terminates in bristly points. These reed birds, which are very numerous both in species and individuals, on the borders of lakes in the provinces north of the Plata, appear to supply in South America, the various Sylviæ, which frequent similar stations in Europe.
5. SYNALLAXIS FLAVOGULARIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXIV.
_S. supra fuscescenti cinereus, infra cinereo-fuscus; remigibus obscurè fuscis, basi obscurè rufis; caudæ plumis sex mediis nigro-fuscis, externis ferrugineis; genis gulâque flavescentibus, plumis singulis apice obscurè fuscis._
Long. tot. 6½ unc.; _rost._ ¾;l _alæ_, 2½; _caudæ_, 3⅝; _tarsi_, ¾.
Head and all the upper surface, brown; primaries, dark brown, with the basal portions rufous; six central tail-feathers, blackish brown; the remainder ferruginous; sides of the face and throat yellowish, with the tip of each feather dark brown; the remainder of the under surface, greyish brown; bill and feet, dark brown.
Habitat, Patagonia.
My specimens were obtained at Bahia Blanca and at Santa Cruz, two extreme parts of Patagonia. It frequents the thinly scattered thickets on the arid plains: the hind claw of its foot is not produced as in _S. rufogularis_, and it lives less on the ground.
6. SYNALLAXIS BRUNNEA. _Gould._
_S. pallide rubro fusca; primariis secundariisque rufis apice fuscis; caudæ plumis quatuor mediis nigrescenti fuscis, duabus proximis ferrugineo fuscis internè nigrescenti-marginatis, duabus extimis ferrugineo fuscis; genis, gulâ abdomineque medio albescentibus; hypochondriis cinereis._
Long. tot. 5⁴⁄₁₂; unc.; _rost._ ⁵⁄₁₂; _alæ_, 2³⁄₁₂; _caudæ_, ⅝; _tarsi_, ¹⁰⁄₁₂.
Head and all the upper surface pale reddish brown; primaries and secondaries, brown at the tip and rufous at the base; four central tail feathers, blackish brown; the next on each side rusty brown, margined internally with blackish brown; the two lateral feathers wholly rusty brown; sides of the face, throat, and centre of the abdomen, whitish; flanks cinereous; bill and feet brown.
Habitat, Port Desire, Patagonia. (_January._)
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 24._
_Synallaxis flavogularis._ ]
This little bird frequents the thickets in the dry valleys near Port Desire. It often flies from bush to bush, and its habits are nearly like those of the rest of the genus. From its tail feathers, however, being little used, and the tarsi being slightly elongated, I suppose it lives chiefly on the ground. I may observe, that this species comes nearest to _S. flavogularis_, but that in the form of its tail, straightness of bill, and kind of plumage, it departs from Synallaxis, and approaches Eremobius.
7. SYNALLAXIS ÆGITHALOIDES. _Kittl._
S. Ægithaloides. _Kittl._ Mem. de l’Acad. 11. pl. vii.—_Vog. von Chili_, p. 15, pl. vii.
This bird is common throughout Patagonia and Central Chile, being found wherever thickets grow on a rocky or dry soil. It sometimes moves about in small flocks. Its habits, as Kittlitz remarks, resemble in many respects, those of a titmouse (_Parus_); but there is one remarkable point of difference, namely, that this bird is able to _run_ very quickly on the ground. It does not always do so, but often hops about with great activity; nevertheless, I repeat, I have distinctly seen it running very quickly amongst the thickets. When hopping from twig to twig, it does not use its long tail, any more than the long-tailed titmouse (_Parus caudatus_) of Europe. It utters a harsh, shrill, quickly reiterated cry, like so many other species of this genus and the allied ones. In Chile, I several times saw a very large cylindrical nest, built of prickly twigs of the mimosa, and placed in the middle of a thorn-bearing bush, with its mouth at the upper extremity; I was assured by the country people, that although so very large, it belonged to this little bird.[11] This kind of nidification, the habit of feeding on the ground, and the length of acuminated tail, are points of resemblance with _S. major._
8. SYNALLAXIS RUFICAPILLA. _Vieill._
Synallaxis ruficapilla. _Vieill._ Gal. des Ois. pl. lxxiv. Parulus ruficeps. _Spix._ Av. Sp. Nov. tom. 1. p. 84, t. lxxxvi. f. 1, m. f. 2. fem. Sphenura ruficeps. _Licht._ Ver. p. 42.
My specimens were obtained at Maldonado, (June) where it was rare, and at Buenos Ayres. Near Santa Fè, in Entre Rios, 3° northward, it was common: Spix found it near the Rio San Francisco in Brazil. Iris yellowish red; legs with faint tinge of blue; tongue terminated in bristly points, not deeply bifid. This Synallaxis approaches in character _Anumbius ruber_. Habits similar to those of _S. maluroides_.
ANUMBIUS RUBER. _D’Orb. & Lafr._
Anumbius ruber. _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Mag. de Zool. 1838, p. 18. Furnarius ruber. _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. 514. Anumbi rouge. _Azara_, No. 220.
Frequents reeds on the borders of lakes near Maldonado. Habits very similar to those of _Synallaxis maluroides_, and likewise of the two species of Limnornis; to one of which _L. curvirostris_, it is most closely allied in structure. Iris bright yellowish orange; tarsi, with faint tinge of blue; tongue divided on each side a little below the extreme point.
GENUS.—LIMNORNIS. _Gould._
Rostrum _capitis longitudine seu longius, leviter a basi ad apicem arcuatum, lateraliter compressum, haud emarginatum; naribus magnis basalibus linearibus apertis aut partim operculo tectis_: alæ _brevissimæ rotundæ, plumis quarta, quinta sextaque ferè æqualibus et longissimis_; cauda _rotundata et graduata, scapis aliquanto ultra radios productis_; tarsi _mediocres, fortiter scutellati; halluce digito medio breviore, robusto, ungue robusto armato, digitis lateralibus ferè æqualibus, intermediis aliquanto brevioribus_.
1. LIMNORNIS RECTIROSTRIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXVI.
_L. pallide flavescenti fusca; cervice nigrescenti fusco; caudâ rufa; tectricibus primariis secundariisque fuscis rufo latè marginatis; fasciâ pone oculos, gulâ abdomineque flavescenti albis; hypochondriis fulvis._
Long. tot. 6²⁄₁₂ unc; _rost._ ²⁄₁₂, _alæ_, 2⁶⁄₁₂ _caudæ_, 2⁹⁄₁₂ _tarsi_, ⁹⁄₁₂.
Crown of the head brown; the remainder of the upper surface, pale yellowish brown; tail rufous and acutely pointed; wing coverts, primaries and secondaries brown, broadly margined with rufous; stripe behind the eye, throat, and all the under surface buffy white; flanks tawny; bill lengthened, orange at the base, dark brown at the tip; iris rusty red; feet very pale coloured; claws whitish.
Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata. (_June._)
This bird lives amongst the reeds on the borders of lakes. It often alights vertically on stems of plants, but in climbing does not use its tail: habits, generally similar to those of _Synallaxis maluroides_.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 26._
_Limnornis rectirostris_ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 25._
_Limnornis curvirostris._ ]
2. LIMNORNIS CURVIROSTRIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXV.
_L. rufescenti-fusca; caudâ, remigiumque basibus pallidè: castaneo-fuscis, lineâ superciliari, genis, gulâ abdomineque albis; hypochondriis cervino tinctis._
Long. tot. 7 unc., _rost._ 1⅛; _alæ_, 2⁸⁄₁₂; _caudæ_, 3¹⁄₁₂; _tarsi_, ¹⁰⁄₁₂.
Head, all the upper surface, and wings reddish brown; tail and basal portion of the outer margins of the primaries and secondaries reddish chesnut brown; stripe over the eye, throat, and all the under surface white, tinged, especially on the flanks, with fawn colour; bill orange at the base, the tip brown; legs pale bluish; claws white; tongue bristled on the sides; near the extremity it is divided into little bristly points.
Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata. (_June._)
This species frequents the same localities with the last, and I am unable to point out any difference in its habits. Of the two specimens collected, the beak of one is very nearly one-tenth of an inch longer than that of the other; but this is almost wholly due to the sharp point of the upper mandible projecting beyond the lower mandible in the one, whereas they are nearly equal in the other.
1. OXYURUS TUPINIERI. _Gould._
Synallaxis tupinieri. _Less._ Zool. de la Coqu. pl. 29. f. 1. Oxyurus ornatus. _Swains._ 2 Cent, and ¼. p. 324.
This bird is perhaps the most abundant of any land species inhabiting Tierra del Fuego. It is common along the west coast, (and numerous in Chiloe,) even as far north as a degree south of Valparaiso; but the dry country and stunted woods of central Chile are not favourable to its increase. In the dark forests of Tierra del Fuego, both high up and low down, in the most gloomy, wet, and scarcely penetrable ravines, this little bird may be met with. No doubt, it appears more common than it really is, from its habit of following, with seeming curiosity, every person who enters these silent woods; continually uttering a harsh twitter, it flutters from tree to tree, within a few feet of the intruder’s face. It is far from wishing for the modest concealment of the creeper (_Certhia familiaris_); nor does it, like that bird, run up the trunks of trees, but industriously, after the manner of a willow wren, hops about and searches for insects on every twig and branch.
2. OXYURUS? DORSO-MACULATUS. _Gould._
Synallaxis dorso-maculata. _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Voy. de l’Amer. Mer. Ois. pl. 14. f. 1. —— Mag. de Zool. 1837, Cl. 11. p. 21.
My specimen was procured from Maldonado, (_June_), where it was not common. It frequents the same localities with _Synallaxis maluroides_, and the two species of _Limnornis_, and has very similar habits with them. In structure, and in the general shade of its plumage, it is closely allied to the foregoing species, although differing from it in habits.
GENUS.—DENDRODRAMUS. _Gould._
_Rostrum capitis longitudine, aut longius, culmine recto, gonide ascendente, per omnes partes lateraliter compressum, durum et apice inemarginatum, naribus basalibus longitudinalibusque; alæ mediocres et subacuminatæ, plumis tertia, quarta et quinta æqualibus longissimisque; cauda mediocris, scapis ultra radios in spinas acutas productis; tarsi sub-breves, digitis unguibusque longis, his multum curvatis, digito externo valido et ferè digiti medii longitudine, digitis lateralibus inæqualibus, internis multum brevioribus._
DENDRODRAMUS LEUCOSTERNUS. _Gould._
PLATE XXVII.
_D. capite, dorsi parte superiore alisque nigrescenti fuscis, rubro-tinctis; primariis secundariisque subferrugineo fusco irregulariter marginatis, uropygio caudâque nitidè ferrugineis, gulâ pectoreque albis, abdomine medio rufescenti-fusco, singulis plumis ad apicem maculâ magnâ ovali albâ; hypochondriis saturatè rufis; rostro basi corneo, apice pedibusque nigro fuscis._
Long. tot. 6³⁄₁₂ unc.; _rostri_, 1¹⁄₁₂; _alæ_ 3; _caudæ_, 2⁹⁄₁₂; _tarsi_, ⁹⁄₁₂.
Head, upper part of the back and wings blackish brown, tinged with red; primaries and secondaries irregularly margined with dull rusty brown; rump and tail rich ferruginous; throat and chest white; feathers of the centre of the abdomen reddish brown, with a large oval spot of white near the tip of each feather; flanks deep rufous; bill horny at the base, the remainder and the feet blackish brown.
Habitat, Chiloe and Southern Chile.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 27._
_Dendrodramus leucosternus._ ]
This bird is common in the forests of Chiloe, where, differently from the _Oxyurus tupinieri_, it may constantly be seen running up the trunks of the lofty forest trees. Its manners appeared to me to resemble those of _Certhia familiaris_. I found Coleopterous insects in its stomach. Its range does not appear to be extensive; Chiloe to the south, and some woods near Rancagua (a degree south of Valparaiso) were the extreme points where I met with it. The Dendrodramus is not found in Tierra del Fuego, where the _O. tupinieri_ is so numerous. Mr. G. R. Gray remarks that this genus is very nearly allied to Dendroplex of Mr. Swainson.
FAMILY.—SYLVIADÆ.
SUB-FAM.—MOTACILLINÆ.
1. MUSCISAXICOLA MENTALIS. _D’Orb. & Lafr._
M. mentalis, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Mag. de Zool. 1837, p. 66. —— Voy. dans l’Amer. Mer. Ornith. pl. 40, f. 1.
I procured specimens of this bird from Bahia Blanca, in Northern Patagonia, from Tierra del Fuego, from Chiloe, and from Central and Northern Chile. It is everywhere common. It frequents open places; so that in the wooded countries it lives entirely on the sea beaches, or near the summits of mountains, where trees do not grow. In the excessively sterile upper valleys of the Cordillera of Northern Chile I met with this bird, even at a height of little less than ten thousand feet, where the last traces of vegetation occur, and where no other bird lives. It generally moves about in very small flocks, and frequents rocky streams and marshy ground: it hops and flies from stone to stone, very much after the manner of our whinchat (_Motacilla rubetra_), but when alighting it frequently expands its tail like a fan. The sexes are exactly similar in size and plumage.
Mr. G. R. Gray observes, that the genus Muscisaxicola is probably synonymous with Lessonia of Mr. Swainson; but the latter name cannot be used, as it has already been twice employed in other branches of Natural History.
2. MUSCISAXICOLA MACLOVIANA. _G. R. Gray._
Sylvia macloviana, _Garn._ Voy. de la Coqu. Zool. p. 663. Curruca macloviana, _Less._
I brought home only one specimen of this bird; it came from East Falkland Island, whence also those described by Messrs. Lesson and Garnot were procured. Mr. Gould considered it a distinct species, but having carefully compared it with _M. mentalis_, I can see not the smallest difference in any point, excepting that it is somewhat larger in all its dimensions. The length of the whole body is .6 of an inch greater, of wing when folded .45, of tarsus .2, greater than in the foregoing species. I can scarcely hesitate in thinking it a large-sized local variety, from some favourable condition in the Falkland Islands to its growth.
3. MUSCISAXICOLA BRUNNEA. _Gould._
_M. griseo-fusca; gutture abdomineque albis flavescenti tinctis, pectore obscuro; alis caudâque obscure fuscis, singulis plumis rufescenti-fusco marginatis; rectricum externarum radiis lateralibus flavescentibus._
Long. tot. 5 unc.; _rostri_, ¹¹⁄₁₆; _alæ_, 3⅛; _caudæ_, 2⁴⁄₈; _tarsi_, 1.
Head, and all the upper surface greyish brown; wings and tail dark brown, each feather margined with reddish brown; the outer webs of the external tail feathers buffy white; throat and all the under surface white, slightly tinged with buff; bill and feet blackish brown.
Habitat, Port St. Julian, Patagonia. (_January_).
The only specimen I procured was immature.
4. MUSCISAXICOLA NIGRA. _G. R. Gray._
Alauda nigra, _Boddater_. —— rufa, _Gmel._ —— fulva, _Lath._ Index. Anthus fulvus, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. p. 309. —— variegatus, _Gerv. & Eydoux_, Mag. de Zool. 1836, p. 26. Sylvia dorsalis, _King._ Lessonia erythronotus, _Swains._ Class. of Birds. Alouette noire à dos fauve, _Pl. enl._ 738. L’Alouette à dos rouge, _Azara_, No. 149.
This bird has a wide geographical range. It is found in La Plata, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and on the west coast at least as far north as the valley of Copiapó, in Northern Chile. It is every where common: it is a quiet, tame, inoffensive little bird: it lives on the ground, and frequents sand-dunes, beaches, and rocky coasts, which it seldom leaves: the broad shingly beds of the rivers in Chile have, however, tempted it inland, together with the Opetiorhynchus. I was told that it builds in low bushes.
1. ANTHUS CORRENDERA. _Vieill._
Anthus correndera, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. i. p. 325. La correndera, _Azara_, No. 145.
This titlark is found in La Plata, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. I was informed by an intelligent sealer, that it is the only land-bird on Georgia and South Orkney (lat. 61° S.): it has, therefore, probably a further range southward than any other land-bird in the southern hemisphere. It does not live in flocks, is very common, and resembles a true Alauda in most of its habits. This species (as well as the following) is so closely allied to our meadow pipit, _Anthus pratensis_, that Latham considered it only as a variety; the latter has a high northern range, as the former has a southern one. There can be little doubt that the bird alluded to by Mr. Yarrell (British Birds, p. 392, vol. i.) as having been caught in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, nine hundred miles from Georgia, was this species, which was mistaken, owing to its close similarity, for the true _Anthus pratensis_.
2. ANTHUS FURCATUS. _D’Orb. & Lafr._
A. furcatus, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Mag. de Zool. 1836, p. 27. Voy. de l’Amer. Mer. Av. p. 227.
My specimens were procured on the northern bank of the Plata. It is more common there than the foregoing species, to which it is most closely allied: its chief distinguishing character appears to be the greater shortness of its toes and of the hind claw. I have seen this species alight on twigs. In the breeding season it flies upward, and then falls to the ground, with raised wings, in the peculiar manner common to the _Anthus arboreus_ of England. It builds on the ground; nest simple; egg ¹⁰⁄₁₂ of an inch in length, and ⁷⁄₁₂ in width; colour dirty white, with small specks and blotches of dull red and obscurer ones of purple. This species, both in habits and structure, appears to be an analogue of _A. arboreus_ of the northern hemisphere, as _A. correndera_ is of _A. pratensis_. Mr. Yarrell informs me that the egg of _Anthus furcatus_ is very different from that of _A. arboreus_, although the parent birds are so similar.
3. ANTHUS CHII. _Licht._
A. Chii, _Licht. Spix_, Av. Sp. No. i. t. lxxvi. fig. 2. p. 75. Le Chii, _Azara_, No. 146.
My specimen was procured at Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.
SYLVICOLA AUREOLA. _Gould._
PLATE XXVIII.
_S. supra flavescenti olivacea; fronte cerviceque nitide flavis, singulis plumis ad apicem rufescenti castaneis; occipite griseo; alis caudâque nigrescentibus, latè flavo-marginatis; genis guttureque nitidè flavis; pectore concolori sed singulis plumis in medio pallidè castaneo notatis; abdomine albescenti._
Long. tot. 5 unc.; _rostri_, ⁸⁄₁₂; _alæ_, 2⁶⁄₁₂; _caudæ_, 2³⁄₁₂; _tarsi_, ¹⁰⁄₁₂.
The nape of the neck, back and tail-coverts yellowish olive; the wings and tail blackish, broadly margined with yellow; the front and crown yellow, with the tips of the feathers reddish castaneous; the hind head grey mixed with yellow, the cheeks and the throat bright yellow; the breast of the same colour, but each feather is marked down the middle with pale reddish castaneous, the sides and middle of the abdomen whitish.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (_September_).
This bird is not uncommon on these islands. It has the habits of our Sylviæ. It frequents the thickets in the lower, dry and rocky parts of the island, and especially a peculiar bush, with thick foliage, which grows only near the sea-coast.
CYANOTIS OMNICOLOR. _Swains._
Regulus omnicolor, _Vieill._ Gal. pl. 166. Sylvia rubrigastra, _Vieill._ Regulus Byronensis, _Gray_, Griff. An. King. pl. Tachuris omnicolor, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Tachuris roi, _Azara_, No. 161.
My specimens were obtained at Maldonado in June, and therefore probably it is not a bird of passage. It frequented reeds on the borders of a lake, but was exceedingly rare. I likewise saw one in Northern Patagonia, and in a collection of birds at Santiago, in Chile, made there by an inhabitant of the place. The soles of the feet of this exquisitely beautiful little bird are bright orange.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 28._
_Sylvicola aureola._ ]
TRICHAS VELATA. _G. R. Gray._
Sylvia velata, _Vieill._ Ois. de l’Amer. Sept., ii. pl. 74. —— _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Mag. de Zool. 1836, p. 20. Tanagra canicapilla, _Swains_, Ill. Orn. pl. 174. Trichas canicapilla, _Swains_.
My specimen was procured at Maldonado in June.
FAMILY.—FRINGILLIDÆ.
SUB-FAM.—ALAUDINÆ.
MELANOCORYPHA CINCTURA. _Gould._
_M. Fæm. fuscescenti rufa; gulâ abdomineque medio pallidioribus; remigibus ad apicem nigrescenti fuscis; rectricibus singulis maculâ albâ ovatâ nigrescenti fuscâ ad apicem notatis._
Long. tot. 5¾ unc.; _alæ_, 3¼; _caudæ_, 2¼; _tarsi_, ¾; _rost._ ½.
The whole of the plumage, bill, and feet, sandy rufous brown, which is lightest on the throat and centre of the abdomen; primaries near their extremities passing into blackish brown; and each of the tail feathers with a large oval spot of blackish brown near the tip.
Habitat, St. Jago, Cape Verde Islands. (_September._)
This bird inhabits the most arid plains of lava; it runs, and in its habits resembles, in many respects, a lark.
PYRRHALAUDA NIGRICEPS. _Gould._
_P. supra fuscescenti albâ, plumis medio obscurioribus; fronte, genis lineâque pectoris utrinque albis; corpore infra lineâque à basi rostri supra oculos ad occiput transiente nigris; caudæ plumis mediis nigrescentibus fuscescenti albo marginatis, plumis externis atris._
Long. tot. 4⅝ unc.; _alæ_, 2⅞; _caudæ_, 1⅝; _tarsi_, ⁶⁄₁₀; _rost._ ⁴⁄₁₀.
Upper surface brownish white, with the middle of the feathers darker; the front, cheeks, and a line on each side of the breast white; beneath the body, and a line from the bill passing over the eyes to the hind head, black; the tail with the middle feathers blackish, margined with brownish white, the outer feathers deep black; the bill and feet pale.
Habitat, St. Jago, Cape Verde Islands. (_September and January._)
Like the last species, this bird inhabits sterile lava plains; it runs like a lark, and generally goes in small flocks.
SUB-FAM.—PYRRHULINÆ.
SPERMOPHILA NIGROGULARIS. _Gould._
_S. capite corporeque supra, alis caudâque fusco cinereis; loris gulâque nigris; lineis à rostri angulis per collum utrinque descendentibus, pectore abdomineque mediis, tegminibusque caudalibus inferioribus cinereo albis._
_Fem.? supra olivaceo fusca, subtus pallidior._
Long. tot. 3 unc.; _alæ_, 2¼; _caudæ_, 2; _tarsi_, ⅝; _rostri_, ⁵⁄₁₆.
Male.—Head, all the upper surface, wings and tail, brownish grey; lores and throat black; lines from the angle of the bill down each side of the neck, centre of the chest and abdomen, and the under tail coverts greyish white; bill light horn colour; feet dark brown.
Female?—The whole of the plumage olive brown above, and lighter beneath; bill and feet brown.
Habitat, Monte Video. (_November._)
1. CRITHAGRA? BRASILIENSIS.
Fringilla Brasiliensis, _Spix_, Av. Sp. Nov. ii. t. lxi. f. 1. m. 2. fem. p. 47.
My specimens were obtained from the northern bank of the Plata, in the months of June and November.
2. CRITHAGRA? BREVIROSTRIS. _Gould._
_C. vertice dorsoque pallidè olivaceo fuscis, plumis singulis striâ angustâ mediâ nigro-fuscâ, pennis scapularibus alis caudâque nigro-fuscis cinereo olivaceo latè marginatis; uropygio virescenti flavo; loris, gulâ, pectore humero infra, abdomine, tegminibusque caudæ inferioribus latè flavis._
Long. tot. 5 unc.; _rostri_, ⁷⁄₁₆; _alæ_, 2⅞; _caudæ_, 2¼; _tarsi_, ⅝.
Crown of the head and back, light olive brown, with a narrow stripe of blackish brown in the centre of each feather; scapularies, wings and tail, blackish brown, broadly margined with greyish olive; rump greenish yellow; lores, throat, chest, under surface of the shoulders, abdomen, and under tail-coverts bright yellow: bill and feet brown.
Habitat, Maldonado (_May_), and Valparaiso (_September_).
Near Maldonado, I saw very large flocks of this species feeding on the open grassy plains. When the whole flock rises, these birds utter a low but shrill chirp. In Chile I obtained only one specimen.
SUB-FAM.—EMBERIZINÆ.
1. EMBERIZA GUBERNATRIX. _Temm._
Emberiza gubernatrix, _Temm._, Pl. Col. 63 & 64. —— cristata, _Swains_, Zool. Ill. pl. 148. —— cristatella, _Vieill._ Gal. des Ois. pl. 67. Yellow crested grosbeak, _Lath._ Hist. La huppe jaune, _Azara_, No. 129.
My specimen was procured on the banks of the Parana, near Santa Fe, in latitude 31° S.
2. EMBERIZA LUTEOVENTRIS. _G. R. Gray._
Fringilla luteoventris, _Meyen_, Nov. Act. 1880, pl. 12. f. 3.
This bird was procured at Santa Cruz, in Southern Patagonia; it was rare there.
CHRYSOMETRIS CAMPESTRIS. _Gould._
Fringilla campestris, _Spix_, Avium Nov. Sp. ii. p. 47, pl. 59. f. 3. ♀
_C. Mas: olivaceous; dorsi plumis singulis flavo marginatis, uropygii præsertim; vertice, gulâ, alis caudâque nigris, alis caudâque plus minusve flavo-marginatis; capitis lateribus corporeque infra latè flavis._
Long. tot. 4 unc.; 11 lin.; _rost._ 5 lin.; _alæ_, 2¾; _caudæ_, 2¼; _tarsi_, 7 lin.
Male; olivaceous, with each feather of the back margined with yellow, especially on the rump; the top of the head, throat, wings and tail, black, the two latter margined more or less with yellow; the sides of the head and beneath the body bright yellow.
Habitat, forests of Tierra del Fuego (_February_), Valparaiso (_September_).
SUB-FAM.—FRINGILLINÆ.
1. AMMODRAMUS LONGICAUDATUS. _Gould._
PLATE XXIX.
_A. vertice humeroque cinereo-fuscis, dorso pallescenti fusco, uropygio rufescenti-fusco tincto, plumis singulis strigâ mediâ fuscâ; tectricibus alarum majoribus, remigibus primariis secundariisque et caudâ nigrescentibus, cinereo albo externe marginatis; fronte, strigâ superciliari corporeque infra flavescentibus._
Long. tot. 5¾ unc.; _alæ_, 2⅜; _caudæ_, 3; _tarsi_, ¾; _rostri_, ⁹⁄₁₆.
Crown of the head and shoulder, greyish brown; back, light brown, tinged with reddish brown on the rump, and with a stripe of dark brown down the centre of each feather; greater wing-coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tail blackish, margined externally with greyish white; forehead, stripe over the eye, and all the under surface, buff; bill black; feet brown. Young, or a bird after gaining its new plumage, differs in having the whole of the upper surface rich brown, with a tinge of olive and with a stripe of dark brown down each feather, and in having the wing coverts margined with reddish instead of greyish brown.
Habitat, Monte Video (_November_), Maldonado (_June_).
At Maldonado this bird frequented, in small flocks, reeds and other aquatic plants bordering lakes. In general habits, as well as in place of resort, it resembles those species of Synallaxis and Limnornis, with which it is often associated. It appears to live entirely on insects, and I found in the stomach of one which I opened various minute Coleoptera. Mr. Gould remarks, that the structure of this Ammodramus is very remarkable, for that it has a great general resemblance both in form and colouring to Synallaxis, although the thickness of its bill shows its relation to the Fringillinæ. In its habits it certainly is more allied to the former genus, than to its own family.
2. AMMODRAMUS MANIMBE. _G. R. Gray._
PLATE XXX.
Ammodramus xanthornus, in Plate, and in Gould’s MS. Fringilla Manimbè, _Licht._, Cat. No. 253. Emberiza Manimbè, _D’Orb. & Lafr._, Syn. p. 77. Manimbè, _Azara_, No. 141.
My specimen was obtained from Maldonado.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 29._
_Ammodramus longicaudatus._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 30._
_Ammodramus xanthornus._ ]
1. ZONOTRICHIA MATUTINA. _G. R. Gray._
Fringilla matutina, _Licht._, Cat. 25. —— _Kittl._ Kupfertafeln der Vögel, pl. 23. f. 3. Tanagra ruficollis, _Spix_, Av. Sp. Nov. ii. t. liii. f. 3. p. 39. Chingolo, _Azara_, No. 135. Chingolo Bunting, _Lath. Hist._
I procured specimens of this species from the banks of the Plata, Bahia Blanca in Northern Patagonia, and from Valparaiso in Chile: in these countries it is perhaps the commonest bird. In the Cordillera, I have seen it at an elevation of at least 8000 feet. It generally prefers inhabited places, but it has not attained the air of domestication of the English sparrow, which bird in habits and general appearance it represents. It does not go in flocks, although several may be frequently seen feeding together. At Monte Video I found on the ground the nest of this species. It contained three eggs; these were .75 of an inch in length; form, rather rounded; colour, dirty white, with numerous small spots of chesnut and blackish brown, almost confluent towards the broadest end. It was in this nest that I found the parasitic egg, supposed to belong to a species of Molothrus, described in my journal.[12]
2. ZONOTRICHIA CANICAPILLA. _Gould._
_Z. vertice cinereo; loris regioneque paroticâ obscure fuscis: dorso collique lateribus rufis, dorso superiori et uropygio fuscis; dorso medio nigrescenti fusco, plumis singulis pallido fusco marginatis; tectricibus alarum nigrescenti fuscis, rufescente fusco marginatis, apice albis, duas fascias obliquas trans alarum formantibus._
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; _alæ_, 2⅞; _caudæ_, 2½; _tarsi_, ⅞; _rostri_, ½.
Crown of the head grey; lores and ear-coverts dark brown; back and sides of the neck rufous; upper part of the back and rump brown; centre of the back blackish brown, each feather margined with light brown; wing-coverts blackish brown, margined with reddish brown, and tipped with white, forming two oblique bands across the wing; primaries, secondaries, and tail, dark brown, margined with greyish brown; throat and all the under surface brownish grey; and feet brown.
Habitat, Port Desire in Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego.
This species is not uncommon in Tierra del Fuego, wherever there is any open space. Of the few birds inhabiting the desert plains of Patagonia, this is the most abundant. At Port Desire I found its nest: egg, about .83 in length; form somewhat more elongated than in that of the last species; colour, pale green, almost obscured by minute freckles and clouds of pale dull red.
3. ZONOTRICHIA STRIGICEPS. _Gould._
_Z. capite castaneo, lineâ mediâ obscure diviso, plumis singulis striâ mediâ nigro-fuscâ, humeri flexurâ rufâ; corpore supra fuscescente, plumis singulis striâ latâ mediâ obscure fuscâ; remigibus, primariis caudâque nigro-fuscis pallidè fusco marginatis; strigâ superciliari, faciei collique lateribus, gulâ pectore abdomineque medio cinereis; hypochondriis tegminibusque caudæ inferioribus flavescentibus._
Long. tot. 5¾ unc.; _rostri_, ½; _alæ_, 2½; _caudæ_, 2⅞; _tarsi_, ⅝.
Head chestnut, divided down the middle by a line of deep grey, each feather with a stripe of blackish brown down the centre; point of the shoulder rufous; the remainder of the upper surface light brown, with a broad stripe of dark brown down the centre of each feather; primaries and tail brown; secondaries blackish brown, margined all round with pale brown; stripe over each eye, sides of the face and neck, throat, breast, and centre of the abdomen, grey; flanks and under tail-coverts buff; upper mandible black; under mandible light horn colour; feet brown.
Habitat, Santa Fe. Lat. 31° S. (_October._)
This species appears to replace in this latitude the _Z. matutina_, which is so abundant on the banks of the Plata and in Chile, as that species does the _Z. canicapilla_ of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
PASSERINA JACARINA. _Vieill._
Tanagra jacarina, _Linn_. Passerina jacarina, _Vieill_. Ency. Meth. p. 933. Emberiza jacarina, _D’Orb. & Lafr._, Syn. Le Sauteur, _Azara_, No. 138. Euphone jacarina, _Licht_. Cat. p. 30. Fringilla splendens, _Vieill_. Ency. p. 981?
I procured a specimen of this bird at Rio de Janeiro.
1. FRINGILLA DIUCA. _Mol._
Fringilla Diuca, _Kittl._ Mem. de St. Petersb. t. i. pl. 11. —— Mag. de Zool. 1837, pl. 69. Emberiza Diuca, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Syn. Mag. of Zool. 1838, f. 77.
This bird is very common on the coast of Chile, from the humid forests of Chiloe to the desert mountains of Copiapó. In Chiloe it is perhaps the most abundant of the land birds; south of Chiloe I never saw it, although the nature of the country does not change them. On the eastern side of the continent, I met with this bird only at the Rio Negro, in northern Patagonia. I do not believe it inhabits the shores of the Plata, although so common in the open country, under corresponding latitudes west of the Cordillera. The Diuca, as this Fringilla is called in Chile, generally moves in small flocks, and frequents, although not exclusively, cultivated ground in the neighbourhood of houses: habits very similar to those of the _Zonotrichia matutina_. During incubation, the male utters two or three pleasing notes, which Molina has in an exaggerated description called a fine song. In October, at Valparaiso, I found the nest of this bird in the trellis-work of a vineyard, close by a much frequented path. The nest is shallow, and about six inches across; the outer part is very coarse, and composed of the thin stalks of twining plants, strengthened by the husky calices of a composite flower; this outside part is lined by many pieces of rag, thread, string, tow, and a few feathers. Eggs rather pointed, oval, ·94 of an inch in length; colour, pale dirty green, thickly blotched by rather pale dull brown, which small blotches and spots become confluent, and entirely colour the broad end.
2. FRINGILLA GAYI. _Eyd. & Gerv._
Fringilla Gayi, _Eyd. & Gerv._ Mag. de Zool. 1834. pl. 23. Emberiza Gayi, var. _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Syn. p. 76.
This Fringilla, which was first brought from Chile, is abundant in the southern parts of Patagonia.
3. FRINGILLA FORMOSA. _Gould._
_F. fronte lorisque nigris; vertice, genis, gulâ, alarum tegminibus cæruleo griseis, tegminibus primariis, secundariis rectricibusque griseo-nigris, cærulescenti-griseo marginatis, dorso flavescenti castaneo; tegminibus caudalibus inferioribus pallidè griseis; uropygio pectore abdomine hypochondriisque saturatè flavis._
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; _alæ_, 3¼; _caudæ_, 2⅝; _tarsi_, ¾; _rostri_, ½.
Forehead and lores black; crown of the head, sides of the face, throat, wing coverts, and the margins of the primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers, blue grey; the remainder of the primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers, greyish black; back yellowish chestnut; under tail coverts light-grey; rump, breast, abdomen and flanks, deep wax yellow; bill bluish horn colour; feet light brown.
Habitat, Tierra del Fuego (_December and February_).
This finch is common on the outskirts of the forests in Tierra del Fuego. Mr. Gould remarks, that it is nearly allied to _F. Gayi_, but it is much smaller, and is richer in its colouring.
4. FRINGILLA FRUTICETI. _Kittl._
Fringilla fruticeti, _Kittl._ Kupf. der Vögel, pl. 23. f. 1. Emberiza luctuosa, _Eyd. et Gerv._ Mag. de Zool. 1834. Cl. 11. pl. 71. ——— _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Syn. p. 80.
I obtained specimens of this bird from Northern Chile, and Southern Patagonia. I saw it also in the Cordillera of Central Chile, at an elevation of at least eight thousand feet, near the upper limit of vegetation. In Patagonia it is not common, it frequents bushy valleys in small flocks, from six to ten in number. These birds sometimes move from thicket to thicket with a peculiar soaring flight: they occasionally utter very singular and pleasing notes.
5. FRINGILLA CARBONARIA. _G. R. Gray._
Emberiza carbonaria, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Synop. p. 79.
I never saw this bird but once, and then it was in small flocks, on the most desert parts of the plains between the rivers Negro and Colorado, in Northern Patagonia.
6. FRINGILLA ALAUDINA. _Kittl._
Fringilla alaudina, Kupf. der Vögel, pl. 23. f. 2. Emberiza guttata, _Meyen_, Nov. Act. Cur. xvii. pl. 12. ——— _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Syn. p. 78: Adult. Passerina guttata, _Eyd. & Gerv._ Mag. de Zool. 1834. pl. 70. p. 22.
My specimens were obtained from the neighbourhood of Valparaiso.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 31._
_Passer Jagoensis._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 32._
_Chlorospiza melanodera._ ]
1. PASSER JAGOENSIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXXI.
Pyrgita Jagoensis, _Gould_, Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1837. p. 77.
_P. summo capite, et maculâ parvâ gulari intensè nigrescenti-fuscis; strigâ superciliari, collo, humeris dorsoque intensè castaneis, hujus plumis strigâ fuscâ centrali notatis; alis caudâque brunneis, tectricibus alarum minoribus albis, qui color fasciam transversam efficit: lineâ angustâ albâ à nare ad oculum; genis corporeque subtùs albis, hoc colore in cinereum ad latera transeunte: rostro, pedibusque fuscis._
Long. tot. 5 unc.; _caudæ_, 2¼; _alæ_, 2½; _rost._ ½; _tarsi_, ⁵⁄₄.
Crown of the head and a small mark on the throat intense blackish brown, with a stripe on the eyebrows, the neck, shoulders and back bright chestnut, the feathers of the latter marked with a central dusky streak; wings and tail brown, with the smaller wing coverts white, forming a transverse bar; a narrow white line from the nostrils to the eye; cheeks and under side of body white, this colour passing into grey on the sides; beak and feet dusky.
Habitat, St. Jago, Cape Verde Islands (_January_).
This is the commonest bird in the island; it frequents, generally in small flocks, both the neighbourhood of houses and wild uninhabited spots. It was building its nest towards the end of August.
2. PASSER HISPANIOLENSIS. _G. R. Gray._
Fringilla Hispaniolensis, _Temm. Man._ i, 353.
In the month of January I obtained a specimen of this bird from St. Jago, one of the Cape Verde Islands, where it was not common.
1. CHLOROSPIZA? MELANODERA. _G. R. Gray._
PLATE XXXII.
Emberiza melanodera, _Quoy & Gaim._ Voy. de L’Uranie, Zool. i. p. 109.
_C. flavescenti olivacea; dorso superiori cinereo rufoque mixto; vertice, auribus, colli lateribus pectoreque cinereis rufomixtis; lineâ à naribus pone oculos transiente genisque albis; plumis inter rostrum et oculos gulâque atris; remigibus primariis et secundariis nigrescentibus flavo marginatis: caudâ rectricibus mediis olivaceo fuscis, tribus externis ferè toto pallidè flavis; abdomine medio flavescenti albo, lateribus obscurioribus._
Long. tot. 6½ unc.; _alæ_, 3½; _caudæ_, 2¾; _tarsi_, 10 lines; _rostri_, 5 lin.
Adult. Yellowish olive, mixed with grey and rufous on the upper part of the back; top of the head, ears, sides of the neck and breast, grey mixed with rufous; the lines from the nostrils reaching behind the eyes and cheeks, white; the space between the bill and eye, and the throat, deep black; the primaries and secondaries blackish, margined with yellow; the tail, with the middle feathers, olivaceous black, with the three external nearly wholly pale yellow; the middle of the abdomen yellowish white, with the flanks darker.
Young: Upper surface brownish white, with the middle of each feather black; the throat lighter; the wing coverts and secondaries margined with white and brown; the primaries with yellow; the tail blackish, with their outer margins yellow, and the external feather wholly pale yellow white; beneath the body pale yellowish white, streaked on the breast and flanks with a darker tint.
Habitat, East Falkland Island {_March_), and Santa Cruz, Patagonia (_April_).
This bird is extremely abundant in large scattered flocks in the Falkland Islands.
2. CHLOROSPIZA? XANTHOGRAMMA. _G. R. Gray._
PLATE XXXIII.
_C. cinerascenti olivacea, rufo paulo tincta; lineâ à naribus pone oculos transiente genisque flavis; plumis inter rostrum et oculos gulâque atris; remigibus secundariis nigrescentibus, cinereo et olivaceo latè marginatis; primariis nigrescentibus, flavo angustè marginatis; caudâ cinerascenti nigrâ, plumis externis albis; corpore infra flavescenti albo, hypochondriis obscurioribus._
Long. tot. 7²⁄₈ unc.; _alæ_, 3⅞; _caudæ_, 3; _tarsi_, 1; _rostri_, 7 lin.
Adult: Greyish olive, very slightly mixed with rufous, a line from the nostrils reaching behind the eyes and cheeks, yellow; the space between the bill and eye, and the entire throat, deep black; the secondaries blackish, broadly margined with grey and olive; the primaries blackish, slightly margined with yellow; the tail greyish black, with the outer feathers white; beneath the body yellowish white, darker on the flanks.
Female: Upper surface brownish white, with each feather blackish brown in the middle, the head and throat paler; the wing-coverts and secondaries blackish, margined with brownish white; the primaries blackish, slightly margined with yellow; the tail blackish white-margined, with the outer feathers nearly wholly white; beneath the body yellowish white, streaked with brown on the breast and flanks: and the space from the nostrils reaching to behind the eyes and cheeks, yellowish.
Habitat, East Falkland Island (_March_), and Tierra del Fuego (_February_).
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 33._
_Chlorospiza Xanthogramma._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 34._
_Tanagra Darwinii._ ]
This species is common at the Falkland Islands, and it often occurs mingled in the same flock with the last one. I suspect, however, it more commonly frequents higher parts of the hills. These species have a very close general resemblance; but the marks about the head, which are white in the _C. melanodera_, are yellow in the _C. xanthogramma_, while the parts of the tail-feathers which are white in the latter, are yellow in the _C. melanodera_: this difference of colours does not hold in the females, but they may be at once distinguished by the greater length of wing, when folded, of the _C. xanthogramma_.
CHRYSOMITRIS MAGELLANICA. _Bonap._
Fringilla Magellanica, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. 983; Ois. Chant. de la Zône Torride, pl. 30; Audubon, Birds of Am. pl. 394, f. 2. Gafarron, _Azara_, No. 134. Fringilla icterica, _Licht._ Cat. p. 26.
This bird was very abundant in large flocks during May, at Maldonado; I found it also at the Rio Negro.
SUB-FAMILY.—TANAGRINÆ.
PITYLUS SUPERCILIARIS.
Tanagra superciliaris, _Spix._ Av. Sp. Nov. 2. t. lvii. fig. 1. p. 44.
My specimen was procured from Santa Fé, in Lat. 31° S.
1. AGLAIA STRIATA. _D’Orb. & Lafr._
PLATE XXXIV.
♂ Tanagra striata, _Gmel._ Syst. 1. 899; Ency. Meth. 776; _Licht._ Cat. p. 31. Sp. 347; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 121, pl. 34 of this work. L’Onglet, _Buff._ iv. p. 256. Le Lindobleu, dore et noir, _Azara_, No. 94. ♀ Tanagra Darwinii, _Bonap._; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 121.
I saw the only specimen, which I procured, feeding on the fruit of an opuntia at Maldonado.
Mr. G. R. Gray is induced to consider the species figured under the name of _T. Darwinii_, as the _T. striata, Gm._ and the _T. Darwinii_ of the Zoological Society’s Proceedings, as the female of the same species, while the young birds may be described as following:
Brown, with the margins of the dorsal feathers greenish brown, those of the wings and tail margined brownish white; head and neck greyish green; beneath the body pale dusky green, somewhat darker on the breast and sides; uropygium yellowish green.
Three specimens of this species are contained in the British Museum, exhibiting male, female, and young.
2. AGLAIA VITTATA.
Tanagra vittata, _Temm._ Pl. col.
Maldonado; not common.
PIPILLO PERSONATA. _Swains_.
PLATE XXXV.
P. personata, _Swains_. Two cent. and a quart. p. 311.
Maldonado; not common. The stomach of one, which I shot, contained seeds.
EMBERIZOIDES POLIOCEPHALUS. _G. R. Gray._
_E. olivaceus, dorsi plumis medio nigro striatis; capite gulâque cinereis, priore plumis singulis, medio nigrostriatis; corpore infra rufescenti albo; hypochondriis tectricibus caudæ inferioribus obscurioribus; alarum margine latè flava, remigibus primariis secundariisque nigris; prioribus pallidè olivaceo, posterioribus olivascente flavo latè marginatis._
Long. tot. 7¾ unc.; _alæ_, 3½; _caudæ_, 4; _tarsi_, 1¼; _rostri_, 8 lin.
Olivaceous, with the feathers of the back marked down the middle with black; the head and throat cinereous, with each feather of the former streaked down the middle with black; beneath the body rufous white, darker on the flanks and under tail coverts: the border of the wings bright yellow; the secondaries and primaries black, the former broadly margined with pale olive, the latter with bright olivaceous yellow; base of bill dusky orange.
Habitat, northern shore of the Plata. (_May_ and _August_.)
This bird is common both near Monte Video and Maldonado, in swamps. Stomach full of seeds: it makes a shrill loud cry: its flight is clumsy, as if its tail were disjointed.
FAM.—COCCOTHRAUSTINÆ.
GENUS, GEOSPIZA, _Gould_.
_Corporis figura brevissima et robusta._
_Rostrum magnum, robustum, validum, altitudine longitudinem præstante; culmine arcuato et capitis verticem superante, apice sine denticulo, lateribus tumidis._
_Naribus basalibus et semitectis plumis frontalibus._
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 35._
_Pipilo personata_ ]
_Mandibulâ superiori tomiis medium versus sinum exhibentibus, ad mandibulæ inferioris processum recipiendum. Mandibula inferior ad basin lata, hoc infra oculos tendente. Alæ mediocres remige primo paulo breviore secundo, hoc longissimo._
_Cauda brevissima et æqualis._
_Tarsi magni et validi, digito postico, cum ungue robusto et digito intermedio breviore; digitis externis inter se æqualibus at digito postico brevioribus. Color in maribus niger, in fœm. fuscus._
This singular genus[13] appears to be confined to the islands of the Galapagos Archipelago. It is very numerous, both in individuals and in species, so that it forms the most striking feature in their ornithology. The characters of the species of Geospiza, as well as of the following allied sub-genera, run closely into each other in a most remarkable manner.
In my Journal of Researches, p. 475, I have given my reasons for believing that in some cases the separate islands possess their own representatives of the different species, and this almost necessarily would cause a fine gradation in their characters. Unfortunately I did not suspect this fact until it was too late to distinguish the specimens from the different islands of the group; but from the collection made for Captain FitzRoy, I have been able in some small measure to rectify this omission.
In each species of these genera a perfect gradation in colouring might, I think, be formed from one jet black to another pale brown. My observations showed that the former were invariably the males; but Mr. Bynoe, the surgeon of the Beagle, who opened many specimens, assured me that he found two quite black specimens of one of the smaller species of Geospiza, which certainly were females: this, however, undoubtedly is an exception to the general fact; and is analogous to those cases, which Mr. Blyth[14] has recorded of female linnets and some other birds, in a state of high constitutional vigour, assuming the brighter plumage of the male. The jet black birds, in cases where there could be no doubt in regard to the species, were in singularly few proportional numbers to the brown ones: I can only account for this by the supposition that the intense black colour is attained only by three-year-old birds. I may here mention, that the time of year (beginning of October) in which my collection was made, probably corresponds, as far as the purposes of incubation are concerned, with our autumn. The several species of Geospiza are undistinguishable from each other in habits; they often form, together with the species of the following sub-genera, and likewise with doves, large irregular flocks. They frequent the rocky and extremely arid parts of the land sparingly covered with almost naked bushes, near the coasts; for here they find, by scratching in the cindery soil with their powerful beaks and claws, the seeds of grasses and other plants, which rapidly spring up during the short rainy season, and as rapidly disappear. They often eat small portions of the succulent leaves of the _Opuntia Galapageia_, probably for the sake of the moisture contained in them: in this dry climate the birds suffer much from the want of water, and these finches, as well as others, daily crowd round the small and scanty wells, which are found on some of the islands. I seldom, however, saw these birds in the upper and damp region, which supports a thriving vegetation; excepting on the cleared and cultivated fields near the houses in Charles Island, where, as I was informed by the colonists, they do much injury by digging up roots and seeds from a depth of even six inches.
1. GEOSPIZA MAGNIROSTRIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXXVI.
_G. fuliginosa, crisso cinerascenti-albo; rostro nigro-brunnescente lavato; pedibus nigris._
Long. tot. 6 unc.; _alæ_, 3½; _caudæ_, 2; _tarsi_, 1; _rostri_, ⅞; alt. _rost._ 1.
Fœm. vel Mas jun.; _corpore intensè fusco singulis plumis olivaceo cinctis; abdomine pallidiore; crisso cinerascenti-albo; pedibus el rostro, ut in mare adulto._
Sooty black; with the vent cinereous white, the bill black, washed with brownish, and the feet black.
Female, or young male: Deep fuscous, with each feather margined with olive, the abdomen much paler, with the under tail-coverts cinereous white, the feet and bill like those of the male.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Charles and Chatham Islands.)
I have strong reasons for believing this species is not found in James’s Island. Mr. Gould considers the _G. magnirostris_ as the type of the genus.
2. GEOSPIZA STRENUA. _Gould._
PLATE XXXVII.
_G. fuliginosa, crisso albo, rostro fusco et nigro tincto; pedibus nigris._
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; _alæ_, 3; _caudæ_, 1⅜; _tarsi_, ¾; _rostri_, ⅝; alt. _rost._ ⅜.
Fœm. _Summo corpore fusco singulis plumis alarum caudæque plumis exceptis, pallidè cinerascenti-olivaceo cinctis; gulâ et pectore fuscis; abdomine lateribus et crisso pallidè cinerascenti-fuscis; rostro brunnescente._
Sooty black, with the under tail coverts white; the bill brown, tinged with black, and the feet black.
Female: Upper part of the body fuscous, with the margins of each feather, except those of the wings and tail, pale cinereous olive; the throat and breast fuscous: the abdomen, sides, and under tail-coverts pale cinereous-fuscous; the bill brownish.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 36._
_Geospiza magnirostris_ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 37._
_Geospiza strenua_ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 38._
_Geospiza fortis_ ]
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago (James and Chatham Islands.)
GEOSPIZA FORTIS. _Gould._
PLATE XXVIII.
_G. intense fuliginosa, crisso albo; rostro rufescenti-brunneo, tincto nigro; pedibus nigris._
Fœm. (vel Mas jun.) _Corpore suprà pectore et gutture intensè fuscis, singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; abdomine crissoque pallidè cinerascenti-brunneis; rostro rufescenti-fusco ad apicem flavescente; pedibus ut in mare._
Long. tot. 4¾ unc.; _alæ_, 3; _caudæ_, 1½; _tarsi_, ¹⁰⁄₁₂; _rostri_, ⁷⁄₁₂.
Deep sooty black; with the under tail-coverts and the bill reddish brown tinged with black; the feet black.
Female (or young male): The body above, breast and throat, deep fuscous, with each feather margined with cinereous olive: the abdomen, and under tail-coverts pale cinereous brown; the bill reddish fuscous, with the apex yellowish, and the feet like those in the male.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Charles and Chatham Islands.)
4. GEOSPIZA NEBULOSA. _Gould._
_G. summo capite et corpore nigrescenti-fuscis; singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; corpore subtus pallidiore, abdomine imo crissoque cinerascentibus; rostro et pedibus intensè fuscis._
Long. tot. 5 unc.; _alæ_, 2¾; _caudæ_, 1¾; _tarsi_, ¾; _rostri_, ⅝; alt. _rost._ ½.
MALE.—Upper part of the head and body blackish fuscous, with each feather margined with cinereous olive; the body beneath paler, with the lowest part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts ashy; the bill and feet deep fuscous.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Charles Island.)
5. GEOSPIZA FULIGINOSA. _Gould._
_G. intensè fuliginosa, crisso albo, rostro fusco; pedibus nigrescenti-fuscis._
Long. tot. 4½ unc.; _alæ_, 2½; _caudæ_, 1⅝; _tarsi_, ¾; _rostri_, 1½; alt. _rostri_, ⅜.
Fœm. _Summo corpore, alis, caudâque intensè fuscis; singulis plumis cinerascenti-ferrugineo marginatis; corpore infra cinereo, singulis plumis medium versus obscurioribus; rostro brunneo; pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis._
Deep sooty black, with the under tail coverts white; the bill fuscous, and the feet blackish fuscous.
Female: Upper part of the body; the wings and tail deep fuscous, with each feather margined with ashy ferrugineous; beneath the body cinereous, with each feather towards the middle darker; the bill brown, and the feet blackish brown.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Chatham and James’ Island.)
6. GEOSPIZA DENTIROSTRIS. _Gould._
_G._ (Fœm. vel Mas jun.) _mandibulæ superioris margine in dentem producto, vertice corporeque supra fuscis; singulis plumis medium versus obscurioribus; secundariis tectricibusque alarum ad marginem stramineis; gutture et pectore pallidè brunneis, singulis plumis medium versus obscurioribus, imo abdomine crissoque cinerascenti-albis; rostro rufo-fusco; pedibus obscurè plumbeis._
Long. tot. 4¾ unc.; _alæ_, 2⅜; _caudæ_, 1¾; _rostri_, ½; alt. _rost._ ⅜.
The margin of the upper mandible produced into a tooth; the vertex and above the body fuscous, with each feather towards the middle darker; the margins of the secondaries and wing coverts straw colour; the throat and breast pale brown, darker towards the middle of each feather; the sides and under tail-coverts cinereous white; the bill rufous fuscous, and the feet obscure lead colour.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago.
Mr. Gould considered this specimen a female, from the appearance of its plumage; but from dissection, I thought it was a male.
7. GEOSPIZA PARVULA. _Gould._
PLATE XXXIX.
_G._ (Mas) _capite, gutture, et dorso fuliginosis; uropygio cinerascenti-olivaceo; caudâ et alis nigrescenti brunneis; singulis plumis caudæ et alarum, cinereo-marginatis; lateribus olivaceis, fusco guttatis; abdomine et crisso albis, rostro et pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis._
Long. tot. 4 unc.; _alæ_, 2⅜; _caudæ_, 1½; _tarsi_, ¾; _rostri_, ⅜; alt. _rost._ ⁵⁄₁₆.
Fœm. _Summo capite et dorso cinerascenti-brunneis, gutture, pectore, abdomine crissoque pallidè cinereis, stramineo tinctis._
The head, throat, and back, sooty black; the lower part of the back cinereous olive; the tail and wings blackish brown, margined with cinereous; the sides olive with fuscous spots; the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; the bill and feet blackish brown.
Female: The upper surface cinereous brown; the throat, breast, abdomen, and the under tail coverts, pale cinereous tinged with straw colour.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (James’ Island.)
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 39._
_Geospiza parvula._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 40._
_Camarhynchus psittaculus._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 41._
_Camarhynchus crassirostris._ ]
8. GEOSPIZA DUBIA. _Gould._
_G._ (Fœm. Mas ignot.) _summo capite et corpore suprà fuscis, singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; strigâ superciliari, genis, gutture, corpore infrà cinerascenti-olivaceis, singulis plumis notâ centrali fuscâ; alis caudâque brunneis singulis plumis olivaceo-cinereo marginatis; rostro sordidè albo, pedibus obscurè fuscis._
Long. tot. 3⅜ unc.; _alæ_, 2¾; _caudæ_, 1⅝; _tarsi_, ⅞; _rostri_, ⅝; alt. _rostri_, ⅜.
Upper surface fuscous, with each feather margined with cinereous olive; the streak above the eye, cheeks, throat, and beneath the body, cinereous olive, with the middle of each feather fuscous; the wings and tail brown, with each feather margined with cinereous ash; the bill white, and the feet obscure fuscous.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Chatham Island.)
SUB-GENUS.—CAMARHYNCHUS. _Gould._
CAMARHYNCHUS _differt a genere_ GEOSPIZA, _rostro debiliore, margine mandibulæ superioris minùs indentato; culmine minùs elevato in frontem et plus arcuato; lateribus tumidioribus; mandibulâ inferiore minus in genas tendente._
_Camarhynchus psittaculus_ is the typical species.
1. CAMARHYNCHUS PSITTACULUS. _Gould._
PLATE XL.
_C._ (Fœm.) _summo capite corporeque superiore fuscis; alis caudâque obscurioribus; gutture corporeque inferiore, cinerascenti-albis, stramineo tinctis; rostro pallidè flavescenti-fusco; pedibus fuscis._
Long. tot. 4¾ unc.; _alæ_, 2¾: _caudæ_, 1¾; _tarsi_, ⅞; _rostri_ ½; alt. _rostri_, ½.
The upper part of the head and body fuscous; the wing and tail darker; the throat, and beneath the body cinereous white, tinged with straw colour; the bill pale yellowish fuscous, and the feet fuscous.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (James’ Island.)
The species of Camarhynchus do not differ in habits from those of Geospiza; and the _C. psittaculus_ might often be seen mingled in considerable numbers in the same flock with the latter. Mr. Bynoe procured a blackish specimen, which, doubtless, was an old male; I saw several somewhat dusky, especially about the head.
2. CAMARHYNCHUS CRASSIROSTRIS. _Gould._
PLATE XLI.
_C._ (Mas jun. et Fœm.) _corpore superiore intensè brunneo, singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; gutture pectoreque cinerascenti-olivaceis, singulis in medio plumis obscurioribus; abdomine, lateribus crissoque cinereis stramineo tinctis._
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; _alæ_, 3¾; _caudæ_, 2; _tarsi_, 1⅛; _rostri_, ½; alt. _rostri_, ½.
Upper part of the body deep brown, with each feather margined with cinereous olive; the throat and breast cinereous olive, with the middle of each feather darker; the abdomen, sides, and under tail coverts cinereous tinged with straw colour.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Charles Island?)
I am nearly certain that this species is not found in James Island. I believe it came from Charles Island, and probably there replaces the _C. psittaculus_ of James Island. I obtained three specimens, one male, and two females; from the analogy of so many species in this group, I do not doubt the old male would be black.
SUB-GENUS.—CACTORNIS. _Gould._
CACTORNIS _differt a genere_ GEOSPIZA _rostro elongato, acuto, compresso, longitudine altitudinem excellente; mandibulæ superioris margine vix indentato; naribus basalibus et vix tectis; tarsis brevioribus, unguibus majoribus et plus curvatis._
_Cactornis scandens_ is the typical species.
1. CACTORNIS SCANDENS. _Gould._
PLATE XLII.
_C. intensè fuliginosa, crisso albo; rostro et pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis._
Long. tot. 5 unc.; _rostri_, ¾; _alæ_, 2⅝; _caudæ_, 1¾; _tarsi_, ¾.
Fœm. _Corpore superiore, gutture pectoreque intensè brunneis, singulis plumis pallidiorè marginatis; abdomine crissoque cinereis, stramineo tinctis; rostro pallidè fusco; pedibus nigrescenti-fuscis._
Deep sooty black, with the under tail-coverts white; the bill and feet blackish brown.
Female: Upper surface of the body, throat and breast intensely brown, with the margins of each feather paler; the abdomen and the under tail coverts cinereous, tinged with straw colour; the bill pale fuscous, and the feet blackish fuscous.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (James’ Island.)
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 42._
_Cactornis scandens._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 43._
_Cactornis assimilis._ ]
The species of this sub-genus alone can be distinguished in habits from the several foregoing ones belonging to Geospiza and Camarhynchus. Their most frequent resort is the _Opuntia Galapageia_, about the fleshy leaves of which they hop and climb, even with their back downwards, whilst feeding with their sharp beaks, both on the fruit and flowers. Often, however, they alight on the ground, and mingled with the flock of the above mentioned species, they search for seeds in the parched volcanic soil. The extreme scarceness of the jet black specimens, which I mentioned under the head of the genus _Geospiza_, is well exemplified in the case of the _C. scandens_, for although I daily saw many brown coloured ones, (and two collectors were looking out for them), only one, besides that which is figured, was procured, and I did not see a second.
2. CACTORNIS ASSIMILIS. _Gould._
PLATE XLIII.
TISSERIN DES GALLAPAGOS, (île St. Charles,) _Neboux_, Revue Zoologique, 1840, p. 291.
_C._ Mas (jun?) _corpore suprà fuliginoso, (gutture abdomineque exceptis,) cinereo marginatis; rostro pallidè rufescenti-brunneo; pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis._
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; _rostri_, ¾; _alæ_, 2¾; _caudæ_, 1¾; _tarsi_, ¾.
Upper surface of the body sooty black, margined with cinereous, as well as the throat and abdomen; the bill pale rufous brown; the feet blackish brown.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago.
I do not know from which island of the group this species was procured; almost certainly not from James Island. Analogy would in this case, as in that of _Camarhynchus crassirostris_, lead to the belief that the old male would be jet black. By a mistake this bird has been figured standing on the _Opuntia Darwinii_, a plant from Patagonia, instead of the _O. Galapageia_. I may here mention that a third and well characterized species of Cactornis has lately been sent by Captain Belcher, R.N. to the Zoological Society; as Capt. Belcher visited Cocos Island, which is the nearest land to the Galapagos Archipelago, being less than 400 miles distant, it is very probable that the species came thence.
SUB-GENUS.—CERTHIDEA. _Gould._
CERTHIDEA _differt a genere_ GEOSPIZA _rostro graciliore et acutiore; naribus basalibus et non tectis; mandibulæ superioris margine recto; tarsis longioribus et gracilioribus._
Of the foregoing sub-genera, Geospiza, Camarhynchus and Cactornis belong to one type, but with regard to Certhidea, although Mr. Gould confidently believes it should also be referred to the same division, yet as in its slighter form and weaker bill, it has so much the appearance of a member of the _Sylviadæ_, he would by no means insist upon the above view being adopted, until the matter shall have been more fully investigated.
CERTHIDEA OLIVACEA. _Gould._
PLATE XLIV.
_C. summo capite, corpore superiore, alis caudâque olivaceo-brunneis; gutture et corpore infra cinereis; rostro pedibusque pallidè brunneis._
Long. tot. 4 unc.; _rostri_, ½; _alæ_, 2; _caudæ_, 1½; _tarsi_, ¾.
Upper part of the head, body, wings and tail, olivaceous brown; the throat, and beneath the body, cinereous; the bill and feet pale brown.
Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Chatham and James Island).
I believe my specimens, which include both sexes, were procured from Chatham and James Islands; it is certainly found at the latter.
PHYTOTOMA RARA. _Mol._
P. Bloxami, _Children_, Jard. and Selby’s Ill. P. rutila, _Vieill._ Mag. de Zool. 1832, ii. pl. 5. P. silens, _Kittl._ Mem. de l’Acad. des Sci. de St. Petersb.
This is not a very uncommon bird in Central Chile: the farmers complain that it is very destructive to the buds of fruit trees. It is quiet and solitary, and haunts hedge-rows or bushes; its manners are similar to those of our bullfinch, (_Loxia Pyrrhula_). Iris bright scarlet. Mr. Eyton has given an anatomical description of this bird in the Appendix.
DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS. _Swains._
Dolichonyx oryzivorus, _Swains._ Faun. Bor. Am. 2. 278. Emberiza oryzivorus, _Linn._
This one specimen only was seen at James Island, in the Galapagos Archipelago, during the beginning of October. It is remarkable that a bird migrating, according to Richardson, as far as 54° N. in North America, and generally inhabiting marshy grounds, should be found on these dry rocky islands under the equator. Mr. Gray and myself carefully compared this specimen with one from North America, and we could not perceive the slightest difference.
1. XANTHORNUS CHRYSOPTERUS. _G. R. Gray._
Oriolus cayennensis, _Linn._ Syst. 1. 168 ? Agelaius chrysopterus, _Vieill._ Psarocolius chrysopterus, _Wagl._ Syst. Av. p.
This bird generally frequents marshy grounds. I procured specimens from La Plata and from Chile; in the latter country it extends at least as far north as the valley of Copiapo, in 27° 20′: on the eastern plains it does not range, according to Azara, north of 28°. It builds in reeds. Molina says it is called by the Indians Thili, or Chile—hence he derives the name of the country.
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 44._
_Certhidea olivacea._ ]
[Illustration:
_Birds. Pl. 45._
_Xanthornus flaviceps._ ]
2. XANTHORNUS FLAVUS. _G. R. Gray._
PLATE XLV.
Oriolus flavus, _Gmel._ Psarocolius flaviceps, _Wagl._ Syst. Avium. Troupiale à tête jaune, _Azara_, No. 66.
This species is common at Maldonado in large flocks.
LEISTES ANTICUS. _G. R. Gray._
Icterus anticus, _Licht._ Cat. p. 19. Agelaius virescens, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. 543. Psarocolius anticus, _Wagl._ Le Dragon, _Azara_, No. 65.
This bird is exceedingly abundant in large flocks on the grassy plains of La Plata. It is noisy, and in its habits resembles our starling.
1. AGELAIUS FRINGILLARIUS. _G. R. Gray._
Icterus fringillarius, _Spix_, Av. Sp. No. 1. t. lxv. fig. 1 & 2. p. 68. Psarocolius sericeus, juv., _Wagl._
This species is rare at Maldonado, but appears more common on the banks of Parana in Lat. 31°. S. Spix says (vol. i. p. 68, Birds of Brazil), it is found in Minas Geraes.
2. AGELAIUS CHOPI. _Vieill._
Turdus curæus, _Gmel._ Le Chopi, _Azara_, No. 62. Icterus unicolor, _Licht._ Icterus sulcirostris, _Spix_, Av. Br. pl. 64. f. 2.
This species is common in flocks on the pasture grounds of Chile, and along the whole western shore of the southern part of the continent. In Chile it is called, according to Molina, “cureu.” It is a noisy, chattering bird, and runs in the manner of our starlings. It can be taught to speak, and is sometimes kept in cages. It builds in bushes.
MOLOTHRUS NIGER. _Gould._
Tanagra bonariensis, _Gmel._ Icterus niger, _Dand._ Passerina discolor, _Vieill._ Icterus maxillaris, _D’Orb. & Lafr._ Icterus sericeus, _Licht._ Psarocolius sericeus, _Wagl._
This Molothrus is common in large flocks on the grassy plains of La Plata, and is often mingled with the _Leistes anticus_, and other birds. In the same flock with the usual black kind, there were generally a few dull brown coloured ones, (_Icterus sericeus_ of _Licht._) which I presume are the young. Azara states that the brown coloured birds are smaller than the black glossy ones, and that they sometimes form one-tenth of the whole number in a flock. In the single specimen which I brought home, the size, with the exception of the length of the wing, is only a very little less. Sonnini, in his notes to Azara, considers the brown birds as the females; I can, however, scarcely believe that so obvious a solution of the difficulty could have escaped so accurate an observer as Azara. These birds in La Plata often may be seen standing on the back of a cow or horse. While perched on a hedge, and pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes attempt to sing or rather to hiss: the noise is very peculiar; it resembles that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. Azara states that this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other birds’ nests. I was several times told by the country people, that there was some bird which had this habit; and my assistant in collecting, who is a very accurate person, found in the nest of the _Zonotrichia ruficollis_ (a bird which occupies in the ornithology of S. America the place of the common sparrow of Europe), one egg larger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. This egg is rather less than that of the missel-thrush, being ·93 of an inch in length, and ·78 in breadth; it is of a bulky form, thick in the middle. The ground colour is a pale pinkish white, with irregular spots and blotches of a bright reddish brown, and others less distinct of a greyish hue. This species is evidently a very close analogue of the _M. pecoris_ of North America, from which, however it may at once be distinguished by the absence of the glossy brown on the head, neck, and upper breast,—by the metallic blueness of its plumage in the place of a green tinge, and by its somewhat greater size in all its proportions. The young or brown coloured specimens of these Molothri resemble each other more closely; that of the _M. pecoris_ is of a lighter brown, especially under the throat, and the small feathers on its breast and abdomen have each an obscure dark central streak. The eggs of the Molothri, although having the same general character, differ considerably; that of the _M. pecoris_ being smaller and less swollen in the middle; it is ·85 of an inch in length, and ·78 in breadth. Its colour cannot be better described than in the words of Dr. Richardson[15]—it is “of a greenish white, with rather small crowded and confluent irregular spots of pale liver brown, intermixed with others of subdued purplish grey.” From this description it is obvious that the egg of _M. niger_ is larger and of a much redder tint; the more prominent spots also are larger, the subdued grey being quite similar in both.
If we were to judge from habits alone, the specific difference between these two species of Molothrus might well be doubted; they seem closely to resemble each other in general habits,—in manner of feeding,—in associating in the same flock with other birds, and even in such peculiarities as often alighting on the backs of cattle. The _M. pecoris_, like the _M. niger_, utters strange noises, which Wilson[16] describes “as a low spluttering note as if proceeding from the belly.” It appears to me very interesting thus to find so close an agreement in structure, and in habits, between allied species coming from opposite parts of a great continent. Mr. Swainson[17] has remarked that with the exception of the _Molothrus_, the cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such as “fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they alone live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy.” It is very remarkable, that the cuckoos and the molothri, although opposed to each other in almost every habit, should agree in this strange one of their parasitical propagation: the habit moreover is not universal in the species of either tribe. The Molothrus, like our starling, is eminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or disguise:[18] the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird; it frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars.[19]
AMBLYRAMPHUS RUBER. _G. R. Gray._
Oriolus ruber, _Gmel._ Amblyramphus bicolor, _Leach._ Sturnus pyrrhocephalus, _Licht._ Sturnella rubra, _Vieill._ Leistes erythrocephala, _Swains._ Class. Birds.
This bird frequented marshy places in the neighbourhood of Maldonado, but it was not common there. It is more solitary than the following allied species; I have, however, seen it in a flock. Seated on a twig, with its beak widely open, it often makes a shrill, but plaintive and agreeable cry, which is sometimes single and sometimes reiterated. Its flight is heavy. The young have their heads and thighs merely mottled with scarlet.
STURNELLA MILITARIS. _Vieill._
Sturnus militaris, _Gmel._ Etourneau des terres Magellanique, Pl. enl. 113.
I met with specimens of this bird on the east coast of the continent from the Falkland Islands to 31° S., and on the western coast from the Strait of Magellan to Lima, a space of forty degrees of latitude.
FAMILY.—TROCHILIDÆ.
1. TROCHILUS FLAVIFRONS.
Monte Video.—November. Not abundant.
2. TROCHILUS FORFICATUS. _Lath._
_Edwards’_ Gleanings. _Vieill._ Ois. dores, t. 1. Ornismya Kingii, _Less._ Trochilidees, pl. 38.
This species is found over a space of 2,500 miles on the west coast, from the hot dry country of Lima to the forests of Terra del Fuego, where it has been described by Captain King as flitting about in a snow-storm. In the wooded island of Chiloe, which has an extremely damp climate, this little bird, skipping from side to side amidst the humid foliage, and uttering its acute chirp, is perhaps more abundant than any other kind. It there very commonly frequents open marshy ground, where a kind of bromelia grows: hovering near the edge of the thick beds, it every now and then dashes in close to the ground; but I could not see whether it ever actually alighted. At that time of the year there were very few flowers, and none whatever near the beds of bromelia. Hence, I was quite sure that they did not live on honey; and on opening the stomach and upper intestine, by the aid of a lens, I could plainly distinguish in a yellow fluid, morsels of the wings of diptera,—probably Tipulidæ. It is evident that these birds search for minute insects in their winter quarters under the thick foliage. I opened the stomachs of several specimens which were shot in different parts of the continent, and in all remains of insects were numerous, forming a black comminuted mass. In one killed at Valparaiso, I found portions of an ant. Amongst the Chonos Islands, at a season when there were flowers in open places, yet the damp recesses of the forests appeared their favourite haunt. In central Chile these birds are migratory; they make their appearance there in autumn; the first arrival which I observed was on the 14th of April (corresponding to our October) but by the 20th they were numerous. They stay throughout the winter, and begin to disappear in September: on October 12th, in the course of a long walk, I saw only one individual. During the period of their summer migration, nests were very common in Chiloe and the Chonos Island, countries south of Chile. When this species of _Trochilus_ migrates southward, it is replaced in Chile by a larger kind, which will be presently described. The migration of the humming birds on both the east[20] and west coasts of North America, exactly corresponds to that which takes place in the southern half of the continent. In both they move towards the tropic during the colder parts of the year, and retreat poleward before the returning heat. Some, however, remain during the whole year in Tierra del Fuego; and in northern California,—which in the northern hemisphere, has this same relative position which Tierra del Fuego has in the southern,—some, according to Beechey, likewise remain. Near the south end of Chiloe, I found on the 8th of December, a nest with eggs nearly hatched. It was of the ordinary form of nests; rather more than an inch in internal diameter, and not deep, composed externally of coarse and fine moss, neatly woven together, and lined with dried confervæ, now forming a very fine reddish fibrous mass. I feel no doubt regarding the nature of this latter substance, as the transverse septa are yet quite distinct: hence this humming bird builds its nest entirely of cryptogamic plants. Egg perfectly white, elongated, or rather almost cylindrical, with rounded ends; length ·557 of an inch, and transverse diameter ·352 of an inch. In January, at the Chonos Islands, when there were young in the nest, a considerable number of old birds were shot; of these, however, few or scarcely any had the shining crest of the male. In the only specimen, which I carefully examined, the metallic tips of the young feathers of the crest, were just beginning to protrude. Several of these males without their crest, had a yellowish gorge; and I saw some with a few light brown feathers on their backs. I presume these appearances are connected with their state of moult.
3. TROCHILUS GIGAS, _Vieill._
Orsimya tristis, _Less._, Oiseaux Mouches, pl. 3.
This species is common in central Chile. It is a large bird for the delicate family to which it belongs. At Valparaiso, in the year 1834, I saw several of these birds in the middle of August, and I was informed they had only lately arrived from the parched deserts of the north. Towards the middle of September (the vernal equinox) their numbers were greatly increased. They breed in central Chile, and replace, as I have before said, the foregoing species, which migrates southward for the same purpose. The nest is deep in proportion to its width; externally three inches and a half deep; internal depth a little under one inch and three quarters; width within one inch and two-tenths; mouth slightly contracted. Externally it is formed of fine fibrous grass woven together, and attached by one side and bottom to some thin upright twigs; internally it is thickly lined with a felt, formed of the pappus of some composite flower. When on the wing, the appearance of this bird is singular. Like others of the genus, it moves from place to place, with a rapidity which may be compared to that of Syrphus amongst diptera, and Sphinx among moths; but whilst hovering over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different from that vibratory one common to most of the species, which produces the humming noise. I never saw any other bird, where the force of its wings appeared (as in a butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. When hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. This action appears to steady and support the bird, between the slow movements of its wings. Although flying from flower to flower in search of food, its stomach generally contained abundant remains of insects, which, I suspect, are much more the object of its search than honey is. The note of this species, like that of nearly the whole family, is extremely shrill.
In the Appendix an anatomical description of this bird by Mr. Eyton is given.
ORDER—SCANSORES.
1. CONURUS MURINUS, _Kuhl._
Psittacus murinus, _Gmel._ Perruche, _Pernet_, voy. 1. p. 312.
This parrot feeds in large flocks on the grassy plains of Banda Oriental, where not a tree can be seen. They are very destructive to the corn-fields. I was assured that in one year, near Colonia del Sacramiento, on the north bank of the Plata, 2,500 were killed, a reward being given for each dozen heads. Many of these birds build their nests close together in trees, the whole composing a vast mass of sticks. I saw several of their compound nests on the islands in the river Parana.
2. CONURUS PATACHONICUS.
Psittacus Patagonus, _Vieill._ Ency. Meth. p. Psittacara Patagonica, _Less._ Voy. de la Coquille Zool. pl. 35 bis. Psittacara Patachonica, _Lear’s_ Ill. Psitt. Le Patagon, _Azara_, No. 277. Pattagonian maccaw, _Lath._ Hist. 11, 105.
I obtained specimens of this bird at Bahia Blanca in Northern Patagonia, where there is not a single tree, and the country is dry and very sterile. I did not meet with this species in the southern parts of Patagonia, but it is common near Concepcion in Chile, in nearly the same latitude. They build their nests in holes in cliffs of earth or gravel, together with the _Hirundo cyanoleuca_. In September, at Bahia Blanca, they were laying: their eggs are quite white, and small in proportion to the bird. Several usually rush forth from their holes at the same instant, and utter a noisy scream.
PICUS KINGII. _G. R. Gray._
Picus melanocephalus, _King_, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1830, p. 14.
I procured specimens at Valparaiso, and at the Peninsula of Tres Montes (Lat. 46° S.) At the latter place, I killed in January a pair, male and female. Captain King’s specimens were obtained from Chiloe. The male has its whole head scarlet with only the nape black, so that Captain King’s specific name is unfortunately not applicable for the species; therefore Mr. G. R. Gray thinks it should be named after the first describer. The head of the female is black, with some short reddish brown feathers over nostrils. There appears to be no other difference in the plumage of the sexes.
CHRYSOPTILUS CAMPESTRIS. _Swains._
Picus campestris, _Licht._ Cat. p. _Spix_, Av. Br. pl. 116. Le charpentier des champs, _Azara_, No. 253.
My specimens were obtained from Banda Oriental and Buenos Ayres; I saw it no further southward. Spix says (Birds of Brazil, vol. i. p. 51.) it inhabits Minas Geraes. They frequent open plains and especially rocky ground. They are rather wild, and generally live three or four together. The tail of these ground woodpeckers seems but little used; their beaks, however, were generally muddy to the base: in the stomach of one I found only ants. Their flight is undulatory like that of the English woodpecker, and their loud cry is likewise similar, but each note more separate. They alight on the branch of a tree, horizontally, in the manner of ordinary birds; but occasionally I have seen one clinging in an upright position to a post. They appear to feed exclusively on the ground.
COLAPTES CHILENSIS. _Vigors._
Picus Chilensis, _Garnot_, Voy. de la Coquille, Zool. pl. 52.
This bird frequents the dry stony hills of central Chile, on which only a few bushes and trees grow. It is closely related in habits and structure to the foregoing species, and appears to be its representative on the western side of the Cordillera; hence I cannot but think the institution of the above two genera unfortunate. It is the “_Pitui_” of Molina, which name, I imagine, it derives from its peculiar cry. Molina states, that it builds its nest in holes in banks.
1. DIPLOPTERUS NÆVIUS. _Boie._
Cuculus nævius, _Lath._ Ind. 220.
Rio de Janeiro. April.
2. DIPLOPTERUS GUIRA. _G. R. Gray._
Cuculus guira, _Linn._ Crotophaga Piririgua, _Vieil._ Gal. des Ois. pl. 44. Ptiloleptus cristatus, _Swains._
Buenos Ayres. In small flocks; a noisy, chattering bird.
CROTOPHAGA ANI. _Linn._
Petit Bout-de-Petun, pl. enl. 102. f. 2.
Rio de Janeiro. May. The stomach of several specimens contained remains of numerous Orthopterous, and some Coleopterous insects.
ORDER GYRATONES. _Bonap._
1. COLUMBA FITZROYII. _King._
Columba Fitzroyii, _King._, in Proc. of Zool. Soc.