: Argentine Ornithology, Volume I (of 2) by P. L Sclater, W. H Hudson (books to read in your 20s female .txt) 📖

Ibis_, 1877, p. 33 (Chupat), et

      1878, p. 393 (Centr. Patag.); _Sclater, Ibis_, 1877, p. 46, pl.

fig. 1; _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado, Negro).

 

    _Description._--Head grey, with narrow white superciliaries; in

    other respects like _Zonotrichia pileata_: total length 6·3 inches,

    wing 3·2, tail 2·6.

 

_Hab._ Patagonia.

 

Durnford found this species common and abundant on the Chupat River and

in the interior of Patagonia. It has a pretty song, and sings in the

evening and during the night when the moon is shining. It nests among

coarse grass and herbage, making an unpretending structure of the former

material, which is lined with fibres. It lays four eggs, pale green,

thickly striated with light reddish-brown spots running into each other,

and most numerous at the large end.

79. ZONOTRICHIA STRIGICEPS, Gould. (STRIPE-HEADED SONG-SPARROW.)

 

+Zonotrichia strigiceps+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 486 (Paraná,

      Santa Fé); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Scl. Ibis_, 1877, p.

      47, pl. 1. fig. 2.

 

    _Description._--Above light brownish grey, striped with black;

    centre of crown ash-grey, under the grey a broad rufous stripe,

    beneath which is a narrow grey superciliary stripe; behind the eye

    a rufous mark; beneath, throat white, breast pale grey; sides and

    belly yellowish grey; middle of belly white: whole length 6·2

    inches, wing 2·6, tail 2·6.

 

_Hab._ Argentina and Patagonia.

80. ZONOTRICHIA HYPOCHONDRIA (d'Orb. et Lafr.). (RED-FLANKED SONG-SPARROW.)

 

+Emberiza hypochondria+, _d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 361, t. 45. fig. 1.

      +Zonotrichia hypochondria+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 486

      (Mendoza).

 

    _Description._--Brownish grey, head darker; superciliaries white;

    wings brownish black, edged with greyish rufous; tail brownish

    black, four external pairs of rectrices with a long white mark on

    the inner web, the outer pair with the outer web also margined with

    white; beneath, throat and neck white; sides of head, mystacal line,

    neck and breast-band plumbeous; belly dirty white; flanks chestnut:

    whole length 6·0 inches, wing 2·8, tail 2·0.

 

_Hab._ Bolivia and Western Argentina.

 

Prof. Burmeister, who met with this species near Mendoza, says it is a

true _Zonotrichia_, and not a _Poospiza_, as sometimes considered.

81. COTURNICULUS PERUANUS (Bp.). (YELLOW-SHOULDERED SONG-SPARROW.)

 

+Coturniculus manimbe+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 486 (Paraná);

      _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Corrientes); _Döring, Exp. al Rio

      Negro, Zool._ p. 40 (R. Colorado); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn.

      Cl._ viii. p. 131 (Concepcion). +Coturniculus peruanus+, _Scl. et

      Salv. Nomencl._ p. 32.

 

    _Description._--Above grey, mottled with rufous-brown; wing-feathers

    black, edged with rufous; tail-feathers black, edged with dull grey;

    a patch between the bill and eye and the shoulders bright yellow;

    beneath, throat whitish; breast and belly and sides dull grey, white

    on the middle of the belly; bill and feet horn-colour: whole length

    4·9 inches, wing 2·4, tail 1·9. _Female_ similar, but less bright,

    the yellow spot on the head scarcely perceptible.

 

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.

 

The prevailing colour of this little field-sparrow is grey, marked and

mixed with fuscous and brown; the shoulder and space between the beak

and eye are yellow. It is a common species in the northern portion of

the Argentine country, and appears now to be gradually extending its

range southwards. Many years ago I first noticed it on the pampas north

of Buenos Ayres; afterwards I found it in the immediate neighbourhood

of that city; then it began to spread over the plains to the south,

appearing every spring in greater numbers, but it is still far from

common. It has, I fancy, a limited migration, as I could never find one

in winter. It is solitary, and frequents open plains and fields; lives

on the ground, and never alights on a tree. The male has a favourite

perch, a tall weed or post, where he spends a great deal of his time,

repeating his song at intervals of half a minute; it is short and

pleasing, and has a slight resemblance to the song of the Yellow-Hammer,

but is more delicate and melodious. When approached, the bird flies down

and conceals itself in the grass.

82. SALTATRICULA MULTICOLOR, Burm. (MANY-COLOURED GROUND-FINCH.) [Plate V.]

 

+Saltatricula multicolor+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 481

      (Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 32; _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880,

355 (Salta); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Catamarca).

 

    _Description._--Above grey, faintly tinged with olivaceous on the

    head, neck, and back; a short white stripe behind the eye; beneath

    the stripe and lower part of neck velvet-black; wings blackish;

    tail-feathers black, tipped with white; beneath, throat white,

    breast grey; sides and belly pale chestnut; middle of belly and

    under tail-coverts white; bill and feet horn-colour: whole length

    6·6 inches, wing 2·9, tail 3·0. _Female_ similar, but not so bright.

 

_Hab._ North and Western Argentina.

 

To Dr. Burmeister we owe the discovery of this brilliant Finch, as of

so many other Argentine species. He met with it at Paraná, in the bushy

lands east of the city, and obtained five specimens. White found it near

Andalgala in Catamarca, on trees, feeding on the insects in the flowers

and on seeds; and Durnford collected specimens near Salta.

 

Examples of this species were also obtained by Weisshaupt near Mendoza

(_cf._ Salvin, Ibis, 1880, p. 355).

83. EMBERNAGRA PLATENSIS (Gm.). (RED-BILLED GROUND-FINCH.)

 

+Embernagra platensis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 485 (Paraná);

      _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 140 (Buenos Ayres), 1872, p.

      548 (Rio Negro), _iid. Nomencl._ p. 32; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877,

172 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Buenos

      Ayres, Corrientes); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 40 (R.

      Colorado, R. Negro); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 132

      (Concepcion, Entrerios).

 

    _Description._--Above dull olive-green, striped with blackish; wings

    silky olive-green, the inner webs of the feathers black; edge of

    wings yellow; tail-feathers dull olive-green; beneath, throat and

    breast grey; belly buff; beak bright red; feet pinkish horn-colour:

    total length 8·8 inches, wing 3·7, tail 3·8. _Female_ similar.

 

_Hab._ South Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

 

In this Finch the plumage is alike in both sexes. Above it is dusky

olive-green, beneath grey; the beak is of a fine bright red. In

Argentina this bird is most common in the littoral forests along the

Plata, but ranges as far south as the Rio Negro in Patagonia. It does

not migrate, nor associates in flocks; but the sexes are faithful, and

the male and female are invariably together, and appear to be very fond

of each other's society. They have a loud, sharp alarm chirp or cry,

which bursts from the bird with the startling suddenness of a sneeze

from a human being; also a confused unmelodious song, which always

reminds me, in its hurry, vehemence, and peculiar sound, of the gobbling

of a turkey-cock. They are not shy, but when approached sit jerking

their tails about, and uttering loud chirps as if greatly excited. The

flight is very curious; the bird springs up with great suddenness, and

with tail erect, and the long legs dangling down like a Rail's, proceeds

by a series of irregular jerks, violently shutting and opening its

wings. They breed on the ground under the grass, and conceal their nest

so well that I doubt whether the parasitical _Molothrus_ ever finds it.

I have, at all events, never seen them followed by the young of

_Molothrus_ demanding food.

 

As a rule, small seed-eating birds are beneficially affected by the

presence of man; thus our common _Zonotrichia_ and other sparrows and

finches have become excessively numerous in the most thickly-settled

districts. With the Red-billed Finch, however, just the contrary has

happened; and since I have known this species it has disappeared from

many localities where it was once quite common. Azara's name for this

species, _Habia de bañado_, signifies that it is a marsh bird; but

though now found chiefly in marshy situations, it was once common enough

over the entire pampas region, before the great plains were settled

on by Europeans. The bird is very badly protected by nature against

raptorial species, owing to its very conspicuous red beak, its habit of

perching on the summit of tall plants and other elevated positions, its

loud impetuous voice, which invites attention, and the weak eccentric

flight, which challenges pursuit. It is essential to its safety that it

should have, in the open country it frequents, a dense grass cover into

which it can plunge on the slightest alarm. Where cattle are introduced,

the original pampas-grass, which afforded the suitable conditions,

disappears, giving place to the soft, perishable grasses, clovers,

and thistles of Europe. Where these changes take place, the bird

cannot escape from its enemies and quickly disappears; while many

Dendrocolaptine species inhabiting the same situations are saved by

their inconspicuous protective colouring, sharp wedge-like bodies, and

swift mouse-like motions on the ground. In marshy places on the pampas,

abounding with long aquatic grasses and reed-beds, the Red-bill still

maintains its existence, but from