Part 18

_Description._--Above greyish olive, lores and superciliary stripe whitish; wings blackish, with whitish edgings to the coverts and outer secondaries; tail blackish; outer web of the external rectrix and broad tips of the four external pairs white; beneath pale yellow; bill and feet black: whole length 5·8 inches, wing 2·3, tail 3·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Argentine Republic, including N. Patagonia.

This little bird inhabits the Mendoza and Patagonian districts, and does not appear to be migratory, for on the Rio Negro I found it at all seasons. It is slender in form, with a long tail, its total length being six inches. The sexes are alike in colour; the upper parts are yellowish grey, breast and belly light yellow. They are found living in pairs, all the year round, in thorn bushes, and are scarcely ever seen to rest, but hop incessantly from twig to twig, in a delicate, leisurely manner, seeking on the leaves for the minute caterpillars and other insects on which they live. While thus engaged they utter a variety of little chirping and twittering notes, as if conversing together, and occasionally the two birds unite their voices in a shrill, impetuous song.

146. SERPOPHAGA SUBCRISTATA (Vieill.).

(SMALL-CRESTED TYRANT.)

+Serpophaga subcristata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 454 (Entrerios); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 47; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 177 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 606 (Misiones); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 199 (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above cinereous, usually with a slight olivaceous tinge on the rump; crest-feathers white at their bases, tipped with cinereous, and slightly varied with black; wings blackish, wing-coverts tipped with whitish, forming two handsome bands; outer secondaries externally margined with the same colour; tail dark ashy; beneath ashy white, with more or less yellowish tinge on the belly and under wing-coverts; bill horn-colour; feet black: whole length 4·5 inches, wing 2·0, tail 2·1. _Female_ similar.

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

This species is one of the smallest members of our _Tyrannidæ_, its total length being only four and a half inches. The sexes are alike; the upper plumage is grey, with a greenish tinge on the back; the breast paler grey, becoming pale yellow on the belly. There is a white concealed spot under the loose feathers of the crown.

It is quite common in Buenos Ayres, and, probably, has a partial migration, as it is most abundant in summer. In its habits it closely resembles the species last described, being always found in pairs, living in thickets, where they hop incessantly about, exploring the leaves for small caterpillars, and always conversing in low, chirping, and twittering notes. They also sing together a little confused song. The nest is fastened to the slender twigs of a low bush, and is a deep, cup-shaped and beautiful structure, composed of a great variety of soft materials bound together with spiders' webs, the interior lined with feathers or vegetable down, and the outside with lichen. The eggs are two, bluntly pointed, and of a cream-colour.

147. SERPOPHAGA NIGRICANS (Vieill.).

(BLACKISH TYRANT.)

+Serpophaga nigricans+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. 454 (Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 47; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 177 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 606 (Misiones); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 199 (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above dull brownish cinereous; wings and tail blackish, the coverts and outer secondaries with slight edgings like the back; crest slight, with a well-marked white basal spot; beneath paler and rather purer cinereous; under wing-coverts pale cinereous; bill and feet dark horn-colour: whole length 4·7 inches, wing 2·3, tail 1·1. _Female_ similar, but vertical spot not so well marked.

_Hab._ S.E. Brazil, Paraguay, La Plata, and N. Patagonia.

This species differs markedly in habits, language, and appearance from the last. In both sexes the colour is a uniform slaty grey; the tail, which the bird incessantly opens and flirts like a fan, is black; as in _S. subcristata_ there is a hidden spot of white under the loose feathers forming the crest.

It frequents the borders of running streams, seldom being found far from a water-course; and it alights as often on stones or on the bare ground as on trees. Male and female are always seen together, for it pairs for life, and the migration, if it has any, is only partial. It flits restlessly along the borders of the stream it frequents, making repeated excursions after small winged insects, taking them in the air, or snatching them up from the surface of the water, and frequently returning to the same stand. While thus employed it perpetually utters a loud, complaining _chuck_, and at intervals the two birds meet, and, with crests erect and flirting their wings and tails, utter a series of trills and hurried sharp notes in concert.

The nest is generally placed beneath an overhanging bank, attached to hanging roots or grass, a few inches above the water; but it is sometimes placed in a bush growing on the borders of a stream. It is a neat, cup-shaped, but rather shallow structure, thickly lined inside with feathers. The eggs are four, pointed, white or pale cream-colour, with black and grey spots at the large end.

148. ANÆRETES PARULUS (Kittl.).

(TIT-LIKE TYRANT.)

+Anæretes parulus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 455 (Mendoza); _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 543 (Rio Negro); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 47; _White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 30 (Cordova); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 395 (Centr. Patagonia); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 43 (R. Negro, R. Colorado).

_Description._--Above cinereous, with an olivaceous tint on the lower back; head black, front varied with white, elongated vertical crest black, sometimes varied with white; wings blackish, with slight whitish tips to the coverts and whitish margins to the outer secondaries; tail blackish, outer webs of external rectrices whitish; below pale straw-colour, white on the throat; throat and breast with numerous and well-marked black striations; bill and feet black: whole length 4·0 inches, wing 1·9, tail 1·8. _Female_ similar, but crest shorter.

_Hab._ Argentine Republic, including Patagonia, Chili, Bolivia, Peru, and Andes of Ecuador.

This small bird is only four and a half inches long; in both sexes the colour on the upper parts is dull grey, on the throat and breast ash-coloured; the belly pale yellow. It has the distinction of a slender curling Lapwing-like crest, composed of a few narrow, long, black feathers. The eye is white. It is found in the thorny thickets on the dry plains of Mendoza, and is also common in Patagonia. In its habits it closely resembles _Serpophaga subcristata_; lives always in pairs, perpetually moves about in a singularly deliberate manner while searching through the bush for small insects, the two birds always talking together in little chirping notes, and occasionally bursting out into a little shrill duet. It builds a deep, neat nest of fine dry grass and lined with feathers, in a low thorn, and lays two white eggs.

149. ANÆRETES FLAVIROSTRIS, Scl. et Salv.

(YELLOW-BILLED TIT-TYRANT.)

+Anæretes flavirostris+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1876, p. 355; 1879, p. 613.

_Description._--Above brownish olive; head black, mixed with white and surmounted by narrow elongated black crest-feathers; wings blackish, outer web of external rectrix whitish; beneath pale stramineous, throat and breast white, densely striated with black; under wing-coverts white; bill yellowish, with a black tip; feet black: whole length 4·2 inches, wing 2·1, tail 2·0.

_Hab._ Bolivia and N. Argentina.

A specimen of this species was procured, at Cosquin, near Cordova, by White.

150. CYANOTIS AZARÆ, Naum.

(MANY-COLOURED TYRANT.)

+Cyanotis azaræ+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 47; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 177 (Buenos Ayres, Centr. Patagonia); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 32 (Buenos Ayres); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 43 (R. Colorado, R. Negro); _Barrows, Nutt. Bull. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 200 (Entrerios, Carhué, Pampas).

_Description._--Above dark bronzy green; head black; superciliaries yellow; vertical spot crimson; wings black; broad tips of the lesser wing-coverts and broad edgings of some of the secondaries white, forming a large white bar on the wing; tail black, greater part of outer pair of rectrices and outer web and broad tip of next pair and narrow tips of third pair white; beneath bright ochreous yellow; chin whitish; crissum crimson; incomplete band across the lower breast black; under wing-coverts white; bill black; feet dark flesh-colour: whole length 4·2 inches, wing 2·1, tail 1·7. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ La Plata, Chili, and Western Peru.

This charming little bird is variously called by the country people All-coloured or Seven-coloured. Azara called it "The King"--a name which this species deserves, he says, not only on account of the crown of loose feathers on its head, but because it is exceeded by few birds in beauty. It is the most beautiful bird found in Chili, says Gay; and Darwin, who is seldom moved to express admiration, calls it "an exquisitely beautiful little bird." There are many species possessing a more brilliant plumage, none with so great a variety of distinct colours; for on its minute body, which is less than that of the House-Wren, are seen black, white, green, blue, orange, yellow, and scarlet; and all these hues are disposed and contrasted in such a manner as to produce a very pleasing effect--the olive-green and delicate, yellow predominating, while the vivid scarlet is a mere spot, like the bright gem or ornament which serves to set off and enhance the beauty of the dress. The whole under plumage is pure lovely yellow, while a broad mark of velvet-black extends belt-wise from the bend of each wing, but without meeting in the centre of the bosom. The sides of the head are deep blue; over the blue runs a bright yellow stripe, surmounted with the loose, slender, almost hair-like feathers of the crown, which stand partially erect, and are blue mixed with black, with vivid scarlet in the centre. Above, from the back of the head to the tail, the colour is deep green. The wings are black, crossed with a white band; tail also black, the two outer quills pure white, and the succeeding two partially white, the white colour appearing only when the bird flies. Moreover, as though this diversity of colour were not enough, the soles of the black feet are bright orange, the eye of the male delicate sky-blue, while the female has white eyes.

While on the subject of the colouring of this species, I will mention a curious phenomenon which I have observed many times. When the bird is flying away from the spectator in a strong sunlight, and is at a distance of from twenty to thirty yards from him, the upper plumage, which is dark green, sometimes appears bright blue. At first I thought that a distinct species of _Cyanotis_, cerulean blue in colour, existed, but finally became convinced that the green feathers of the _C. azaræ_ appear blue in certain lights. This seems strange, as the feathers of the back are not glossed.

The Many-coloured Tyrant is, apparently, a very feeble flier, rising reluctantly when frightened from the rushes, and fluttering away to a distance of a few yards, when it again drops down. Yet it is strictly migratory. Darwin met with it at Maldonado in the month of June, and therefore concluded that it does not migrate; but he mentions that it was very rare. I have also occasionally seen one in winter on the pampas, but many migratory species leave a few stragglers behind in the same way. At the end of September they suddenly appear all over the pampas, in every swamp and stream where there are beds of rushes; for in such situations only is the bird found: and this migration extends far into Patagonia. They are always seen in pairs amongst the dense rushes, where they perch on the smooth stems, not near the summit, but close down to the surface of the water, and perpetually hop from stem to stem, deftly picking up small insects from the surface of the water. They also occasionally leave the rushes and search for insects in the grass and herbage along the border. They are very inquisitive, and if a person approach the rush-bed, they immediately come out of their concealment, both birds uttering their singular notes--a silvery, modulated sound, not meant for a song apparently, and yet I do not know any sweeter, purer sound in nature than this. All through the close-growing dark rushes the pretty little melodists may be heard calling to each other in their delicate, gurgling notes.

The nest is a marvel of skill and beauty. As a rule it is attached to a single polished rush, two or three feet above the water and about the middle of the stem. It is cup-shaped inside, and about four inches long, circular at the top, but compressed at the lower extremity, and ending in a sharp point. It is composed entirely of soft bits of dry yellow rush, cemented together with gum so smoothly that it looks as if made in a mould. The eggs are two in number, oval, and dull creamy white, sometimes with a ring of colour at the large end.

151. LEPTOPOGON TRISTIS, Scl. et Salv.

(SORRY TYRANT.)

+Leptopogon tristis+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1876, p. 254; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 606 (Misiones).

_Description._--Above olive; cap rather darker; wings and tail blackish, margined with olive, the two rows of wing-coverts and three or four outer secondaries with clear yellowish-white apical spots; beneath pale sulphur-yellow; under wing-coverts yellow; inner margins of wing-feathers whitish: bill horn-colour; feet brown: whole length 4·4 inches, wing 2·1, tail 2·1.

_Hab._ Northern La Plata and Bolivia.

This bird was obtained by White near San Javier, Misiones, "amongst the lofty trees on the river-banks." White believed that he also met with it in the Sierra de Totoral.

152. ELAINEA ALBICEPS (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(WHITE-CRESTED TYRANT.)

+Elainea modesta+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 454. +Elainea albiceps+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 48; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 60 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 200 (Entrerios); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 606 (Buenos Ayres).

_Description._--Above dark ashy brown, with a slight olivaceous tinge on the rump; head slightly darker, with a more or less concealed white vertical spot; wings and tail blackish brown; tips of wing-coverts, forming two transverse bands, and outer margins of exterior secondaries dirty white; rest of wing-feathers and tail-feathers slightly margined with lighter colour; below nearly uniform pale cinereous, whiter on the throat and middle of the belly; under wing-coverts slightly tinged with yellowish; bill brownish; feet black: whole length 6·0 inches, wing 3·2, tail 3·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guiana, Brazil, Argentina, Chili, Patagonia.

A widely spread species, very common near Buenos Ayres according to White, where it is found in the clumps of trees.

153. ELAINEA STREPERA, Cab.

(NOISY TYRANT.)

+Elainea strepera+, _Cab. J. f. O._ 1883, p. 215.

_Description._--Above dark greyish olive; head slightly crested, with a white basal spot; eye-ring white; wings and tail blackish, tips of wing-coverts rufous, slight margins of wing and tail-feathers olivaceous; beneath cinereous; middle of belly white; flanks olivaceous; under wing-coverts pale cinereous; bill dark brown, pale at the base; feet blackish: whole length 5·6 inches, wing 2·9, tail 2·7.

_Hab._ Tucuman.

Dr. Cabanis established this species, which is unknown to us, on specimens obtained by Herr Schulz in the woods of Tucuman. It is said to have a loud voice, and to feed on berries.

154. ELAINEA VIRIDICATA (Vieill.).

(GREENISH TYRANT.)

+Muscicapara viridicata+, _d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 325. +Elainea grata+, _Cab. J. f. O._ 1883, p. 216 (Tucuman).

_Description._--Above dark olive-green; head dark cinereous, slightly crested, with a large basal spot of bright yellow; lores and eye-region mixed with whitish; wings and tail ashy black, with slight margins of the same colour as the back; below pale cinereous; belly, crissum, and under wing-coverts sulphur-yellow; bill blackish; feet dark brown: whole length 5·0 inches, wing 2·5, tail 2·5. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South America.

The _Elainea grata_, based by Dr. Cabanis upon specimens obtained by Herr Schulz in Tucuman, must, I think, be identical with Azara's _Contramaestre pardo verdoso, corona amarilla_, upon which Vieillot established his _Sylvia viridicata_. It is certainly, in my opinion, the _Muscicapara viridicata_ of d'Orbigny.

Herr Schulz met with this species in the province of Tucuman, in the month of December.

155. EMPIDAGRA SUIRIRI (Vieill.).

(SUIRIRI TYRANT.)

+Tænioptera suiriri+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 460 (Tucuman). +Empidagra suiriri+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 49; _iid. P. Z. S._ 1869, p. 633 (Buenos Ayres); _Cab. J. f. O._ 1878, p. 197. +Pachyrhamphus albescens+, _Gould, Zool. Beagle_, iii. p. 50, t. xiv. (Buenos Ayres).

_Description._--Above cinereous; wings and tail blackish, all the wing-coverts and outer secondaries broadly margined externally with white; outer web of outer tail-feathers white; outer edges of primaries and narrow ends of tail-feathers cinereous; below white, under wing-coverts pale yellowish white; bill and feet black: whole length 5·5 inches, wing 2·9, tail 2·5.

_Hab._ Argentine Republic, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

This species is stated by Prof. Burmeister to be found in Tucuman and Northern Argentina. It also occurs near Buenos Ayres, where Hudson obtained specimens for the Smithsonian Institution.

156. SUBLEGATUS GRISEOCULARIS, Sclater.

(GREY-EYED TYRANT.)

+Sublegatus griseocularis+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1870, p. 17 (Mendoza).

_Description._--Above cinereous; wings and tail dark ashy brown, margins of wing-coverts and outer secondaries whitish; below, throat and breast pale cinereous white; belly and under wing-coverts pale lemon-yellow; bill horn-colour; feet dark brown: whole length 5·0 inches, wing 2·8, tail 2·5. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Southern Peru and Western Argentina.

Specimens of this species were obtained by Weisshaupt near Mendoza.

157. RHYNCHOCYCLUS SULPHURESCENS (Spix).

(SULPHURY TYRANT.)

+Rhynchocyclus sulphurescens+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 49; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 607 (Misiones).

_Description._--Above olive-green, head washed with cinereous; lores and line round the eye whitish; wings blackish brown, margined with yellowish olive; tail dark brown, slightly edged with olive-green; below sulphur-yellow tinged with olivaceous, throat more greyish; middle of the belly rather brighter; under wing-coverts pale sulphur-yellow; bill horn-colour; feet brown: whole length 5·2 inches, wing 2·6, tail 2·5. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ S. America from Northern La Plata to Veragua.

Of this very widely diffused species specimens were obtained by White, in June 1881, in the dense forests of Misiones.

158. PITANGUS BOLIVIANUS (Lafr.).

(BIENTEVEO TYRANT.)

+Pitangus bellicosus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 50; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 178 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 24 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 607 (Catamarca); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 200 (Entrerios). +Saurophagus sulphuratus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 452.

_Description._--Above brown; head black; front, superciliaries, and line round the nape white; large vertical crest yellow, tipped with black; wings and tail brown with rufous margins; beneath sulphur-yellow, inner margins of wing- and tail-feathers pale rufous; bill and feet black: whole length 8·0 inches, wing 4·2, tail 3·3. _Female_ similar, but yellow crest not so much developed.

_Hab._ Bolivia, S. Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.

The Bienteveo is in its habits the most interesting member of the Tyrannine family. It would be difficult to find two species more dissimilar in disposition than are the Silver-bill, already described, and the Bienteveo; the former being like an automaton, having only a few set motions, gestures, and instincts, while the other is versatile in an extraordinary degree, and seems to have studied to advantage the various habits of the Kestrel, Flycatcher, Kingfisher, Vulture, and fruit-eating Thrush; and when its weapons prove weak it supplements them with its running. How strange it is that these two species, mentally as widely separated as the Humming-bird and Crow, should be members of the same family!

The Bienteveo has a wide range in South America, and inhabits the whole of the Argentine country down to Buenos Ayres, where it is very common. It is resident and lives in pairs, the sexes being always faithful. The body is stout, somewhat large for a Tyrant-bird; the length being nine and a half inches, including the beak, which is a little over an inch in length. The wings are blunt and comparatively short, measuring, when spread, fourteen inches. The head is large, and a broad, black band extends from the beak its entire length, and above this is a pure white stripe; the crown is black, concealing in its loose, abundant feathers a brilliant yellow crest, which shows only when the bird is excited. The upper plumage, including wings and tail, is pale brown; the entire under surface sulphur-yellow. In both sexes the plumage is alike.

In Buenos Ayres the Bienteveo is found in every orchard and plantation: it is familiar with man and invariably greets his approach with loud notes--especially with a powerful three-syllabled cry, in which people fancy there is a resemblance to the words Bien-te-veo ("I see you well"); while its big head and beak, and strongly contrasted colours, especially the black and white head-stripes, seem to give it a wonderfully knowing look, as it turns its head from side to side to examine the intruder. It is a loud-voiced garrulous bird, and has a great range of sounds, from grating screams to long, clear, almost mellow call-notes. It has one pretty habit, which brings out strongly the pleasant feature in its character. Though the male and female are greatly attached, they do not go afield to hunt in company, like the Short-winged Tyrant, but separate to meet again at intervals during the day. One of a couple (say the female) returns to the trees where they are accustomed to meet, and after a time, becoming impatient or anxious at the delay of her consort, utters a very long, clear call-note. He is perhaps a quarter of a mile away, watching for a frog beside a pool, or beating, harrier-like, over a thistle-bed, but he hears the note and presently responds with one of equal power. Then, perhaps, for half an hour, at intervals of half a minute, the birds answer each other, though the powerful call of the one must interfere with his hunting. At length he returns; then the two birds, perched close together, with their yellow bosoms almost touching, crests elevated, and beating the branch with their wings, scream their loudest notes in concert--a confused jubilant noise that rings through the whole plantation. Their joy at meeting is patent, and their action corresponds to the warm embrace of a loving human couple.