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

130. CNIPOLEGUS CINEREUS, Scl. (CINEREOUS TYRANT.)

 

+Cnipolegus cinereus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 43; _Döring,

      Journ. f. Orn._ 1878, p. 197 (Cordova); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p.

      357, pl. x. (Tucuman, Salta).

 

    _Description._--Dark cinereous, paler and more olivaceous on the

    back and wings; edges of wing-coverts and secondaries rather

    lighter; below paler, throat and breast blackish, like the head;

    inner margins of wing-feathers whitish; outer primaries acuminated;

    bill plumbeous, feet black: whole length 4·6 inches, wing 2·2,

    tail 2·3. _Female_ brownish cinereous; cap and rump rufous; wings

    blackish, tips of coverts and edges of outer secondaries whitish;

    tail blackish, inner webs of all the lateral rectrices, except the

    tips, rufous; beneath whitish.

 

_Hab._ Northern Argentina.

131. LICHENOPS PERSPICILLATUS (Gm.). (SILVER-BILL TYRANT.)

+Lichenops perspicillatus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 457 (La

      Plata to Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 141 (Buenos

      Ayres); _iid. Nomencl._ p. 43; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1869, p. 432

      (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 21 (Buenos Ayres);

      _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 604 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Bull.

      Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 141 (Entrerios, Azul).

 

    _Description._--Uniform black; primaries pure white, with black tips

    and bases; fleshy ring around the eye and bill yellow, feet black:

    whole length 5·6 inches, wings 3·5, tail 2·4. _Female_ above dark

    brown, with light brown edgings to the feathers; remiges chestnut,

    with dark-brown tips; wing-coverts dark brown with fulvous

    tips; beneath fulvous white, breast with dark striations; under

    wing-coverts fulvous; bill yellowish, feet black.

 

_Hab._ Southern Bolivia, S.E. Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, La Plata,

Chili, and Patagonia.

 

Naturalists have said a great deal about the well-known Silver-bill (the

most important member of my "_Spectacular_" group), the question as to

whether the black and red birds are sexes or two distinct species having

long remained unsettled. Azara, writing in the last century, under the

heading _Pico de Plata_, rightly described the red bird as the female of

the black; but, unfortunately, in another part of his work he described

the female again as a different species, naming it _Suiriri chorreado_.

Darwin also separated the sexes, and gave the name of _Lichenops

erythropterus_ to the red-plumaged bird. The following extract gives

only a portion of his argument, and is interesting to read, even now,

when the question has been finally set at rest, as it shows how much

the two birds differ:--"The tail of _L. erythropterus_ is squarer and

contains only ten feathers instead of twelve: the wing is 4/10 of an

inch shorter; and the secondaries relative to the primaries are also

shorter. The red colour on the primaries represents but does not

correspond with the white on the black feathers of _L. perspicillatus_;

and the secondaries in the two birds are quite differently marked.

In _L. erythropterus_ the third, fourth, and fifth primaries are the

longest, and are equal to each other; the second is only a little

shorter than the third. In _L. perspicillatus_ the third is rather

shorter than the fourth and fifth; and the second is proportionately

shorter relative to the third, so that the outer part of the wing in

this species is more pointed than in _L. erythropterus_. The outer

claw in the latter species is only in a small degree straighter than

in the former; and this, considering that _L. perspicillatus_ is

generally perched, and when on the ground can only hop, and that _L.

erythropterus_ feeds there entirely, and walks, is very remarkable."

 

When one considers the habits of the two birds, even where they are most

abundant and seen continually, it is indeed difficult to believe that

they are of the same species. They are never seen associating together,

even in the love-season, and when I have watched a pair actually engaged

in constructing their nest, they appeared to keep as far apart as

possible. More than that, the male, while unfriendly towards all other

species, appears to cherish a special antipathy against the red bird;

and when one comes near him never fails to pursue it with the greatest

virulence from the neighbourhood. He is also strictly solitary, but the

red birds frequently unite in small parties, especially in autumn, when

I have often seen as many as a dozen together.

 

Altogether the Silver-bill has been a puzzle in the past, and it would

now appear, from some recent observations made by Mr. Barrows, that we

have not yet got to the end of all the curious points in its habits.

Without doubt it is migratory. Its range extends from Paraguay to

Patagonia, where it is not common. In Paraguay and the hotter parts of

the Argentine country it is probably stationary; in Buenos Ayres, where

it is most abundant, many individuals remain all the year in sheltered

places, and the migration appears to become more definite the further

south we get. Mr. Barrows travelled south across the pampas in the

autumn, and says:--"The species was met with at all points visited,

but south of the Azul not a single male in the black plumage was seen,

though the brown birds (presumably females or young) were met with

almost every day for nine weeks, and frequently in large numbers. Of

course I began to suspect that the males must moult into a brown suit

after nesting, as do our Bobolinks and many other birds, but I shot

specimens at various times, and all proved to be either females or young

males, and as I was confident that at Concepcion black males were to be

found through the year, I was at a loss for an explanation, and am so

still."

 

The male Silver-bill is entirely black, there is nothing in nature

blacker than its plumage; and, to enhance the effect, the beak is of a

very delicate primrose-yellow, which at a little distance appears white,

hence the vernacular name. The eye, and broad free skin surrounding

it, which is ruffed like an Elizabethan collar, are of the same faint

primrose hue. The secondary wing-quills are pure white, but the white

is only displayed when the bird flies. The female has the naked skin

encircling the eye, but its colour, as also that of the beak, is much

darker than in the male. Entire upper plumage dark brown; secondaries

chestnut; lower parts fawn-colour, marked with brown. The young males

are at first like the females in colour, and do not acquire the black

plumage until the end of the summer.

 

The bird ranges over the whole of the Argentine Republic, and, according

to Gay, is also common throughout Chili, where it is known as the

_Colegial_ (Collegian or learned person), on account of its stiff grave

manner, black dress, and spectacled appearance.

 

The male is a solitary bird, and feeds chiefly on the ground, running

rapidly about in open places like a _Muscisaxicola_. It is also

frequently seen perched conspicuously on the summit of a tall stalk or

bush, and occasionally making a dart into the air after passing insects,

showing in this habit his relationship with the Tyrant-birds. But he

perches on an elevation less to watch for insects than for the purpose

of his curious spectacular performance. This highly eccentric habit is

strikingly like that of _Cnipolegus hudsoni_; and I have no doubt that

all the _Cnipolegi_ possess similar habits. Both birds perch on a

conspicuous place, upright, motionless, and looking more like grotesque

little automata than living things; they both also leave the perch

suddenly, as if shot from it by means of a steel spring. This singularly

sudden movement, and the motion of the wings, rapid as in the

Humming-bird, or shut and opened alternately and exhibiting the white

wing-colour in a series of flashes, seems related to the conspicuous

white mark. In both species, also, the wings make a humming sound during

flight. The motions of the Silver-bill are, however, in some respects

different from those of the _Cnipolegus_. Springing from its perch at

intervals, it darts vertically to a height of about fifteen yards, then

turns a summersault, uttering at the same moment a shrill-sounding

little cry, after which it drops down again and alights on its perch

suddenly, as if jerked back to it, and there remains stiff, erect, and

motionless as before.

 

The nest is made of dry grass in a thistle-bush or clump of reeds, and

is rather deep and cup-shaped. The eggs are four in number, white, and

spotted at the larger end with dark red. 

132. MACHETORNIS RIXOSA (Vieill.). (SHORT-WINGED TYRANT.)

 

+Machetornis rixosa+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 458 (Paraná);

      _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 142; _iid. Nomencl._ p. 44;

      _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1874, p. 173 (Buenos Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_,

      1877, p. 177 (Buenos Ayres); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 357

      (Salta); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 142

      (Entrerios).

 

    _Description._--Above brownish olive; wings and tail brown, the

    latter terminated by a yellowish band; middle of cap occupied by a

    scarlet crest; beneath bright yellow, paler on the throat; bill and

    feet black: whole length 7·2 inches, wing 3·9, tail 3·5. _Female_

    similar, but rather duller. Young without the scarlet crest.

 

_Hab._ S.E. Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and La Plata.

 

This species, found in the open districts throughout South America,

from Venezuela to Buenos Ayres, where it is quite common, has very

interesting habits. It is seven inches and a half long, has a plump

body, short wings, and long legs. The upper plumage is light brown, the

throat, breast, and belly yellow, and the male has a concealed crest of

a bright orange-red colour.

 

It resembles the true Tyrants in disposition, in its shrill piercing

language, and in the habit of perching and breeding in trees. On the

other hand, like the long-legged _Myiotheretes_, that lives on the open

plains, it feeds exclusively on the ground, over which it runs with a

speed possessed by few perching species. The general impression one

forms is that in manners and appearance the Short-winged Tyrant is quite

unlike any other species, though all its habits are to be found in one

or other of the various groups comprising the _Tyrannidæ_.

 

These birds have no migration, but pair for life, and always remain on

the same spot, and will continue to breed in the same hole for many

years, even where they are frequently deprived of their eggs. Azara saw

them sometimes uniting in small flocks in Paraguay; in Buenos Ayres they

are always seen in pairs, or, after the young have left the nest, in

families. They prefer to live near a human habitation, where there are

trees: even one tree, in which they can breed and find shelter at night,

will be sufficient to attach them to a dwelling, so great is their

partiality for the clean-trodden ground where they can freely run about

and catch insects. They haunt the cattle-pens, and become extremely

familiar with the cows, horses, and sheep, following them to the

pasture-grounds, where they are often seen perched on the back of a

horse