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

utters a loud melancholy cry when passing from one tree to

another. It always alights on the trunk close to the ground, clinging to

the bark in a vertical position, supported by the tail, and with head

thrown far back in order to give free play to the extremely long beak.

Having thus alighted, it progresses upwards by short hops, exploring the

crevices in the wood for small insects, until it reaches the branches,

when it flies off to the next tree.

 

 

 

 

Fam. XVIII. FORMICARIIDÆ, or ANT-BIRDS.

 

 

The Formicariidæ, or Ant-birds, are another very important constituent

of the Neotropical Avifauna, but are less generally diffused than the

Dendrocolaptidæ, the greater number of the forms being restricted to the

hot forests of South and Central America. In the Argentine Republic we

meet with only four species of the widely-spread genus _Thamnophilus_,

and of them only one appears to extend as far south as Buenos Ayres.

 

 

THAMNOPHILUS LEACHI (Such).

 

(LEACH'S BUSH-BIRD.)

 

  +Thamnophilus leachi+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 69; _White, P. Z.

      S._ 1882, p. 614 (Misiones).

 

    _Description._--Black, thickly and conspicuously spotted above with

    white or pale yellowish; on the wings the spots occur on the outer

    webs of the feathers; upper tail-coverts faintly edged with grey;

    tail black, unspotted; feathers on the lower breast and belly

    slightly edged with grey; bill and feet black: whole length 10·5

    inches, wing 3·4, tail 5·0. _Female_: spots larger and yellow, on

    the crown lengthening to stripes and tinged with rufous; inner webs

    of the wing-feathers also spotted on their margins; whole under

    surface thickly spotted with pale yellow.

 

_Hab._ Brazil and N. Argentina.

 

White met with a single individual of this fine Bush-bird at Concepcion,

Misiones. It was observed on the ground feeding on a swarm of black

ants.

 

 

THAMNOPHILUS MAJOR, Vieill.

 

(LARGER BUSH-BIRD.)

 

  +Thamnophilus major+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 69; _White, P. Z.

      S._ 1882, p. 614 (Salta); _Salvin, Ibis_. 1880, p. 359 (Salta).

      +Thamnophilus stagurus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 471

      (Paraná, Tucuman).

 

    _Description._--Above black, upper wing-coverts crossed by a row of

    white spots; the outer rectrix on each side tipped and barred with

    white, the other rectrices, excepting the middle pair, spotted with

    white on their inner webs; beneath pure white; bill black, feet

    grey: whole length 8·0 inches, wing 3·6, tail 2·8. _Female_ above

    rufous, beneath white, lower flanks and under tail-coverts tinged

    with ochraceous; tail wholly rufous.

 

_Hab._ Paraguay and N. Argentina.

 

White found this species common in the gardens round the town of Oran.

He noted the iris as "crimson."

 

Azara's account of this species is prefaced by the following remarks on

the birds of this genus known to him in Paraguay:--"These birds inhabit

only the dense and tangled thickets, and never show themselves outside

of their hiding-places, except for a few moments in the early morning

and in the evening; but at no time do they perch high on the trees, but

keep always within a few feet of the earth. They live in pairs; feed

solely on insects caught in the bushes which they frequent, or on the

ground, on which, however, the bird alights only to pick up its prey,

and then returns to the twig to devour it. They are stationary, and fly

only from one thicket to another. Many of the species have a similar

voice or song, which is singular, powerful, and heard only in the

love-season. The call is a trill of a single note rapidly reiterated,

and loud enough to be heard half a mile away; the cry being accompanied

by vibratory motions of the wings."

 

 

THAMNOPHILUS CÆRULESCENS, Vieill.

 

(SLATY-BLUE BUSH-BIRD.)

 

  +Thamnophilus cærulescens+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 472

      (Paraná, Mendoza, Tucuman); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 70;

      _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 614 (Corrientes, Misiones); _Barrows,

      Auk_, 1884, p. 21 (Entrerios); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 361

      (Salta).

 

    _Description._--Above grey, black on the crown, and a patch of white

    and black feathers on the middle of the back; wings black, the

    coverts thickly spotted and the inner webs of the remiges edged with

    white; tail black, all the feathers, except the middle pair, tipped

    with white, the outer rectrix on each side has also a long white

    spot in the middle part of the outer web; beneath cinereous, white

    on the belly; bill and feet black: whole length 5·6 inches, wing

    2·7, tail 2·3. _Female_: above earthy olive-green, yellowish on

    the crown; wing-coverts and tail as in the male; wing-feathers

    olive-brown; beneath yellowish olive-grey, brightening into

    ochraceous on the belly and flanks.

 

_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentina.

 

Mr. Barrows says concerning this species that it is "frequently seen,

especially during the winter" (on the Lower Uruguay). A nest, taken

November 24th, "was almost precisely like that of our Red-eyed Vireo

(_V. olivaceus_), being pensile in the fork of a horizontal spray, only

four feet from the ground. It contained three fresh eggs, white, with

spots and dashes of light brown."

 

White says that these birds frequent the banks of streams, and have a

deep bass call-note, rather mournful and slow.

 

 

THAMNOPHILUS RUFICAPILLUS, Vieill.

 

(RED-CAPPED BUSH-BIRD.)

 

  +Thamnophilus argentinus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 472

      (Paraná, Tucuman); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 70; _Durnford,

      Ibis_, 1877, p. 183 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 21

      (Entrerios). +Thamnophilus ruficapillus+, _Pelz. Orn. Bras._ p.

      79; _Berl. et Jher. Zeitschr. ges. O._ 1885, p. 49.

 

    _Description._--Above olivaceous brown, tinged with rufous, brighter

    on the crown; lores yellowish white, superciliaries and sides of

    head whitish grey; wing-feathers dark olive-brown, the inner webs

    edged with ochraceous; tail black, all the rectrices, except the

    middle pair, slightly tipped and broadly spotted on the inner webs

    with white; beneath greyish white, the feathers from the lower

    throat to the belly transversely barred with black; bill and feet

    black: whole length 6·2 inches, wing 2·7, tail 2·6. _Female_: above

    the same as the male, except the tail, which is rufous brown;

    beneath whitish, tinged with ochraceous, and with scarcely

    perceptible greyish mottlings.

 

_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentina.

 

This species is very common in the eastern provinces of Argentina, and

extends south to Buenos Ayres. It is a shy, solitary bird, found in

woods and thickets along the shores of La Plata; and utters occasionally

a singular low rasping note, its only language. The nest is a slight

shallow structure placed in a low tree; the eggs are white, thinly

spotted with reddish brown. Probably this species is to some extent

migratory, as I have only observed it in the summer season.

 

 

 

 

Fam. XIX. PTEROPTOCHIDÆ, or TAPACOLAS.

 

 

The Pteroptochidæ form a small but very peculiar family of

Tracheophonine Passeres, mostly restricted to Chili and the

south-western extremity of the South-American Continent, but also

represented in the Andes of Ecuador and Colombia and in the high

plateau of Central Brazil. They are ground-birds, remarkable for their

large and robust feet with long claws, their strangely formed bills, and

the elevated position in which the tail is carried in the living bird.

 

In the Argentine Republic four species of Pteroptochidæ are known to

occur, only one of which, however, is a well-known bird. Two of the

remaining three are recent discoveries, and the fourth a Chilian

species, which extends over the Andes into the western borders of

Argentina.

 

 

SCYTALOPUS SUPERCILIARIS, Cab.

 

(WHITE-EYEBROWED SCYTALOPUS.)

 

  +Scytalopus superciliaris+, _Cab. Journ. f. Orn._ 1883, p. 105, t.

fig. 3 (Tucuman).

 

    _Description._--Nearest to _S. indigoticus_ of Brazil, but without

    the white colour on the breast and belly, only the throat being

    clear white; superciliaries striped white; front and sides of the

    head and neck, breast and belly grey; rest of the upper surface,

    together with the flanks and crissum, light brown, with fine

    blackish cross-markings; bill blackish, feet light-coloured.

 

_Hab._ Sierra of Tucuman.

 

This species is one of Schulz's recent discoveries in the Sierra of

Tucuman, where he found it west of Sauciyaca, frequenting the deep

ravines.

 

 

RHINOCRYPTA LANCEOLATA, Geoffr. et d'Orb.

 

(GALLITO.)

 

  +Rhinocrypta lanceolata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii, p. 471

      (Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 70;

      _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 543 (Rio Negro); _White, P. Z. S._

      1882, p. 614 (Catamarca).

 

    _Description._--Above, head and upper neck reddish brown with a

    fine white shaft-stripe on each feather, the stripes being most

    conspicuous on the crest-feathers; lower neck, back, rump, and wings

    greyish olive; tail blackish; beneath, throat and upper part of

    breast, grey, becoming pure white on the middle of the belly; sides

    of belly and flanks bright chestnut; lower part of belly and flanks

    and under tail-coverts like the back; bill horn-colour, feet black:

    whole length 8·2 inches, wing 3·3, tail 3·0. _Female_ similar.

 

_Hab._ Western and Southern Argentina and Patagonia.

 

The vernacular name _Gallito_, or "Little Cock," by which this species

is familiarly known in Patagonia, cannot fail to strike every one who

sees the bird as very appropriate, for it struts and runs on the ground

with tail erect, looking wonderfully like a small domestic fowl. In the

neighbourhood of Carmen, on the Rio Negro, it is very abundant, and

when I went there its loud deep chirrup, heard from every side in the

thicket, quickly arrested my attention, just as the perpetual chirping

of the Sparrows did when I first landed in England. In the interior of

the country it is not nearly so abundant, so that man's presence has

probably in some way affected it favourably. Its habits amuse and baffle

a person anxious to make its acquaintance; for it scarcely possesses the

faculty of flight, and cannot be driven up, but it is so easily alarmed,

so swift of foot, and so fond of concealment, that it is most difficult

to catch a sight of it. At the same time it is extremely inquisitive,

and no sooner does it spy an intruder in the bush than the warning note

is sounded, whereupon every bird within hearing hops up into a thick

thorn-bush, where it utters every three or four seconds a loud hollow

chirrup, and at intervals a violent scolding cry, several times

repeated. When approached they all scuttle away, masked by the bushes,

with amazing swiftness, to take refuge at a distance, where the loud

protest is again resumed; but when the pursuer gives up the pursuit

in disgust and turns away, they immediately follow him, so that he is

perpetually encircled with the same ring of angry sound, moving with

him, coming no nearer and never allowing its cause to be seen.

 

On three or four occasions I have seen one rise from the ground and fly

several yards with a feeble fluttering flight; but when closely pursued

in an open place they seem incapable of rising. They generally fly down

from the top of a bush, but always ascend it by hopping from twig to

twig.

 

The nest is made in the centre of a thorny bush two or three feet from

the ground; and is round and domed, with a small aperture at the side,

and built entirely of fine dry grass. The eggs are four in number and of

a pure white.

 

The Little Cock is nine inches long, has long stout legs, and short,

curved beak. The colour of the head and neck is deep reddish brown,

lined with white, the feathers of the crown forming a crest. The upper

surface and wings olive-brown; tail dark; throat and breast grey; middle

of the belly white, with a broad ruddy rufous patch on each side

reaching to the belly.

 

 

RHINOCRYPTA FUSCA, Scl. et Salv.

 

(BROWN GALLITO.)

 

  +Rhinocrypta fusca+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ pp. 76, 161.

 

    _Description._--Above uniform pale cinnamomeous brown; superciliaries

    whitish; tail blackish, except the middle pair of rectrices, which

    are the same as the back; beneath white, faintly tinged with

    cinnamomeous; bill horn-colour, feet black: whole length 6·5 inches,

    wing 2·5, tail 2·4.

 

_Hab._ Mendoza.

 

The original examples of this species were obtained by the German

collector, Weisshaupt, near Mendoza. It appears to have been mistaken

for the young of the preceding species, but is decidedly different.

 

 

PTEROPTOCHUS ALBICOLLIS, Kittl.

 

(WHITE-NECKED TAPACOLA.)

 

  +Pteroptochus albicollis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 471

      (Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 76.

 

    _Description._--Above chestnut-brown, obscure or slightly olivaceous

    on the neck and upper part of back; inner webs of wing-feathers

    blackish; lores, superciliaries, and under surface white, the breast

    sparsely, and the belly and flanks thickly marked with transverse

    spots of blackish brown; lower flanks and under tail-coverts

    chestnut-brown, obscurely spotted with black; bill and feet black:

    whole length 8·5 inches, wing 3·1, tail 2·9. _Female_ similar.

 

_Hab._ Chili and Western Argentina.

 

Dr. Burmeister tells us that he met with this Chilian species in the

water-courses near Mendoza, where it was seen running about on the

stones like a Dipper.

 

Darwin has given us some interesting notes on this bird:--"This species

is called by the Chilenos 'Tapacola,' or 'cover