Part 20

The violent and bold temper exhibited by most Tyrant-birds during the breeding-season, a quality from which is derived the name of the family, is perhaps carried to a greater degree in this species than in any other; and when one spends many days or weeks in the marshy, littoral forests, where the bird is most abundant, and hears its incessant distressful screams, the specific name _melancholicus_ does not seem altogether inappropriate; and that is the most that can be said of any specific name invented by science, and which does not merely describe some peculiarity of form or colour.

This Tyrant is one of the largest of its kind, its total length being nearly nine inches. The wings are long and suited for an aerial life; the legs are exceedingly short, and the feet are used for perching only, for this species never alights on the ground. The throat and upper parts are grey, tinged with olive on the back; the wings and tail dark; the breast yellow tinged with green; the belly pure yellow. Under the loose grey feathers of the crown is a fiery orange crest displayed in moments of excitement.

In Buenos Ayres these birds arrive in September, after which their shrill, angry cries are incessantly heard, while the birds are seen pursuing each other through the air or in and out amongst the trees--perpetually driven about by the contending passions of love, jealousy, and rage. As soon as their domestic broils are over, a fresh war against the whole feathered race begins, which does not cease until the business of propagation is finished. I have frequently spent hours watching the male, successively attacking, with scarcely an interval of rest, every bird, big or little, approaching the sacred tree where its nest was placed. Its indignation at the sight of a cowardly Carrion-Hawk (_Milvago_) skulking about in search of small birds' nests, and the boundless fury of its onset, were wonderful to witness.

They are extremely active, and when not engaged in their endless aerial battles, are pursuing large insects on the wing, usually returning after each capture to their stand, from which they keep a jealous watch on the movements of all winged things about them. They are fond of marshy places and water-courses, where they perch on a tall stalk to watch for insects, and also frequently skim over the water like Swallows to drink and dip their feathers.

A tall tree is usually selected for the nest, which is not unfrequently placed on the very topmost twigs, exposed to the sight of every creature passing overhead, and as if in defiance of birds of prey. With such an aggressive temper as this bird possesses it is not strange perhaps that it builds in the most exposed places, from which the female, in the absence of her vigilant consort, can keep a sharp eye on the movements of her feathered neighbours; but I have often thought it singular that they do not make a deeper receptacle for their eggs, for the nest is merely a slight platform of slender sticks, and very ill-adapted to retain its burden during high winds. The parasitical Cow-bird never enters this nest, which is not strange.

The eggs are four in number, small for the bird, pointed, parchment-white, spotted with dark brown at the larger end.

171. MILVULUS TYRANNUS (Linn.).

(SCISSOR-TAIL TYRANT.)

+Milvulus tyrannus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 53; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 178 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 26 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ vol. viii. p. 203 (Entrerios). +Tyrannus violentus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 453.

_Description._--Above cinereous, rump blackish; cap jet-black, with a concealed yellow vertical crest; wings dark brown; tail black, outer web of the outer rectrix white; beneath white; bill and feet black; three outer primaries excised at the tips: whole length 14·0 inches, wing 4·6, tail 12·0. _Female_ similar, but outer tail-feathers not so long.

_Hab._ Mexico, and Central and South America, down to Patagonia.

The _Tijereta_ (Scissor-tail)--a name derived from the habit the bird has of opening and closing the two long feathers of the tail when flying--is found throughout South America, and in the summer of the Southern Hemisphere ranges as far south as Patagonia.

The tail is forked, and the two outer feathers exceed by over four inches in length the next two. The total length of the adult male is fourteen inches, the tail being ten inches long; this species is therefore one of the longest-tailed we know of. The tail of the female is about two inches shorter than that of the male. The head is intense black; the plumage of the crown is rather long and loose, and when raised displays a vivid yellow crest. The neck and upper surface is light, clear grey; the under surface pure white; the tail black. During flight the two long feathers of the tail stream out behind like a pair of black ribbons; frequently the bird pauses suddenly in its flight, and then the two long feathers open out in the form of the letter V.

The Scissor-tail is migratory, and arrives, already mated, at Buenos Ayres at the end of September, and takes its departure at the end of February in families--old and young birds together. In disposition and general habits it resembles the true Tyrant-birds, but differs from them in language, its various chirping and twittering notes having a hard percussive sound, which Azara well compares to the snapping of castanets. It prefers open situations with scattered trees and bushes; and is also partial to marshy grounds, where it takes up a position on an elevated stalk to watch for insects, and seizes them in the air like the Flycatcher. It also greedily devours elderberries and other small fruits.

The nest is not deep, but is much more elaborately constructed than is usual with the Tyrants. Soft materials are preferred, and in many cases the nests are composed almost exclusively of wool. The inside is cup-shaped, with a flat bottom, and is smooth and hard, the thistle-down with which it is lined being cemented with gum. The eggs are four, sharply pointed, light cream-colour, and spotted, chiefly at the large end, with chocolate. In the breeding-time these Tyrants attack other birds approaching the nest with great spirit, and have a particular hatred to the Chimango, pursuing it with the greatest violence through the air with angry notes, resembling in sound the whetting of a scythe, but uttered with great rapidity and emphasis. How greatly this species is imposed upon by the Cow-bird, notwithstanding its pugnacious temper, we have already seen in my account of that bird.

The Scissor-tails have one remarkable habit; they are not gregarious, but once every day, just before the sun sets, all the birds living near together rise to the tops of the trees, calling to one another with loud, excited chirps, and then mount upwards like rockets to a great height in the air; then, after whirling about for a few moments, they precipitate themselves downwards with the greatest violence, opening and shutting their tails during their wild zigzag flight, and uttering a succession of sharp, grinding notes. After this curious performance they separate in pairs, and perching on the tree-tops each couple utters together its rattling castanet notes, after which the company breaks up.

Fam. XIV. PIPRIDÆ, or MANIKINS.

The brilliantly coloured _Pipridæ_ or _Manikins_ are nearly altogether confined to the tropical portions of the Neotropical Region, where they number about 70 species. Only one of these has as yet been discovered intruding in the northern outskirts of the Argentine Republic.

172. CHIROXIPHIA CAUDATA (Shaw).

(LONG-TAILED MANIKIN.)

+Chiroxiphia caudata+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 55; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 608 (Misiones).

_Description._--Above blue; cap scarlet; sides of head, nape, and wings black; tail black edged with bluish, two middle rectrices lengthened; beneath blue; throat, crissum, and under wing-coverts black; bill and feet reddish: whole length 6·0 inches, wing 3·1, tail 2·5. _Female_ green, cap scarlet.

_Hab._ S.E. Brazil, Paraguay, and N.E. Argentina.

White obtained two or three males and one female of this Manikin in the forests of Misiones, on the banks of the Uruguay. One of his specimens is now in the British Museum.

Fam. XV. COTINGIDÆ, or COTINGAS.

The _Cotingidæ_ are another characteristic Neotropical family, mostly of splendid plumage, and nearly altogether confined within the limits of the tropics. Two stragglers only, belonging to the more obscure sections of the group, are as yet known to occur within the confines of Argentina, though it is quite probable that others may be found later on, when the northern forests are more completely explored.

173. PACHYRHAMPHUS POLYCHROPTERUS (Vieill.).

(WHITE-WINGED BÉCARD.)

+Pachyrhamphus polychropterus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 56; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 61 (Buenos Ayres).

_Description._--Above cinereous, upper back blackish; cap shining black; wings black, margins of coverts and secondaries white; tail black, four outer pairs of rectrices tipped with white; beneath cinereous, paler on the middle of the belly; under wing-coverts pale grey; bill and feet blackish: whole length 6·5 inches, wing 3·0, tail 2·6. _Female_ above dull green, below yellowish; wings margined with rufous.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Paraguay, and N.E. Argentina.

This pretty little bird, the only species of the large South-American family _Cotingidæ_ with which I am acquainted, comes as far south as Buenos Ayres, but is very scarce. It lives in woods, and is a shy, solitary bird with nothing in its flight and general appearance to distinguish it from a Tyrant-bird. When flying, it utters a whistling note.

In January 1887, Durnford met with a pair of this species of Bécard in the riverain wood near Belgrano, and secured the male. They were busy catching flies, making frequent sallies from a willow tree in pursuit of them. Mr. Barrows obtained three specimens of what was probably the same bird at Concepcion in Entrerios, in November 1886 (_see_ Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl. viii. p. 203).

In the _male_ of this species, as in many other Bécards, the second primary is abnormally shortened, being only about one inch in length. See remarks on this subject in P. Z. S. 1857, p. 72, whence the woodcut exhibiting this strange feature is taken by kind permission.

174. CASIORNIS RUBRA (Vieill.).

(RUFOUS CHEESE-BIRD.)

+Suiriri roxo+, _Azara, Apunt._ ii. p. 128. +Casiornis rubra+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 57.

_Description._--Above uniform ferruginous, lores paler; beneath lighter, belly yellowish; bill horn-colour, yellowish at the base; feet plumbeous: whole length 6·8 inches, wing 3·4, tail 3·1. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ S. Brazil, Paraguay, and N. Argentina.

White obtained a female specimen of this bird at Campo Colorado, Oran, in November 1880; it is now in Sclater's Collection.

Fam. XVI. PHYTOTOMIDÆ, or PLANT-CUTTERS.

The peculiar form _Phytotoma_, remarkable for its toothed Fringilline bill, was associated by the older authors with the Finches. But modern researches have shown that it is not an Oscinine genus, and that its true place is near the _Cotingidæ_; indeed, some authors have placed it within the limits of that family.

Of the four known species of Plant-cutters, all restricted to South America, one is a well-known denizen of the Argentine Republic.

175. PHYTOTOMA RUTILA, Vieill.

(RED-BREASTED PLANT-CUTTER.)

[Plate VIII.]

+Phytotoma rutila+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 451 (Paraná, Mendoza, Cordova, Tucuman, Catamarca); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 60; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 203 (Entrerios); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 609 (Catamarca).

_Description._--Above plumbeous, with slight darker shaft-spots; front of head bright red; wings and tail blackish, two well-marked wing-bars and tips of all lateral rectrices white; beneath bright red; flanks plumbeous; under wing-coverts whitish: whole length 7·0 inches, wing 3·5, tail 3·3. _Female_: above grey, densely striated with black; beneath dirty white, with dense black striations, belly and crissum fulvous.

_Hab._ Argentine Republic.

I found this curious little bird quite common in Patagonia, where the natives call it _Chingolo grande_, on account of its superficial resemblance to the common Song-Sparrow (_Zonotrichia pileata_). The colouring of the sexes differs considerably, the forehead and under surface of the male being deep brick-red; the upper parts dull grey, with a bar on the wing and the tips of the rectrices white; while in the female the upper parts are yellowish grey, obscurely mottled, and the breast and belly buff, with dark spots. In both sexes the eye is yellow, and the feathers of the crown pileated to form a crest.

This bird is usually seen singly, but sometimes associates in small flocks; it is resident, and a very weak flier, and feeds on tender buds and leaves, berries and small seed. The male is frequently seen perched on the summit of a bush, and, amidst the dull-plumaged species that people the grey thickets of Patagonia, the bright red bosom gives it almost a gay appearance. When singing, or uttering its alarm notes when the nest is approached, its voice resembles the feeble bleatings of a small kid or lamb. When approached it conceals itself in the bush, and when flying progresses by a series of short jerky undulations, the wings producing a loud humming sound.

The nest is made in the interior of a thorny bush, and built somewhat slightly of fine twigs and lined with fibres. The eggs are four, bluish-green in colour, with brownish flecks.

This species is found throughout the Argentine country, in dry, open situations, abounding with a scanty tree and bush vegetation.

Suborder III. _TRACHEOPHONÆ._

Fam. XVII. DENDROCOLAPTIDÆ, or WOOD-HEWERS.

The _Dendrocolaptidæ_ are an important family in American Ornithology, numbering some 220 species, and distributed in greater or less abundance over every part of the Neotropical Region from Mexico to Patagonia. Within Argentine limits 46 species occur.

While green is the characteristic colour of the _Tyrannidæ_, brown is the favoured hue of the _Dendrocolaptidæ_, both the forest-loving and campos-frequenting members of the group being nearly without exception arrayed in various shades of that sombre colour, to which a ferruginous tail is a very frequent appendage.

The _Dendrocolaptidæ_ fall into four subfamilies, all of which have representatives in Argentina. These are (1) the _Furnariinæ_, or Oven-birds, which are terrestrial in habits and have their feet adapted for this mode of life; (2) the _Sclerurinæ_, or Leaf-scrapers, known by their spiny tail, which keep to the ground inside the forests; (3) the _Synallaxinæ_, or Sharp-tails, mostly bush-frequenting birds; and (4) the _Dendrocolaptinæ_, or Wood-hewers, which have the habits of our Creepers (_Certhia_), and use their tail as a climbing-organ. All the members of this great family feed exclusively on insects.

Subfam. I. _FURNARIINÆ._

176. GEOSITTA CUNICULARIA (Vieill.).

(COMMON MINER.)

+Geositta cunicularia+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 405 (Mendoza, Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 61; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 178 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 395 (Chupat); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 203 (Entrerios). +Geositta tenuirostris+, _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 609 (Salta).

_Description._--Above nearly uniform earthy brown; wing-feathers pale cinnamon-red; greater part of the outer webs, excepting the inner secondaries and a transverse bar across the secondaries, blackish; tail pale cinnamon-red, with a broad blackish band across the terminal half; beneath pale fulvous white, breast more or less variegated with blackish; under wing-coverts pale cinnamomeous; bill horn-colour, pale at the base; feet horn-colour: whole length 5·5 inches, wing 3·5, tail 2·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Chili, Patagonia and Argentina.

The country people have a variety of names for this common and well-known species. In Buenos Ayres it is usually called _Manea-cola_ (Shake-tail), in Patagonia _Caserita_ (Little House-builder), and in other places _Minera_ (Miner) or _Caminante_ (Traveller), from its habit of running rapidly along a clean road or bridle-path before a person riding or walking.

It is a stout little bird, with very short toes quite unsuited for perching, and it does not, in fact, ever perch on a tree, though it manages to cling to a perpendicular bank very well, when engaged in opening its breeding-hole. It is resident and pairs for life, and lives in sterile places, feeding on small insects and spiders. In manner it is very lively, and runs swiftly over the bare ground, stopping very abruptly, then running on again, and at every pause slowly moving its half-open tail up and down. It flies swiftly, close to the ground, and always during its short flight trills out its clear, ringing, rapidly reiterated cry, which in sound resembles the laughter of a child.

On the grassy pampas the Miners invariably attach themselves to the _Vizcacheras_--as the groups of great burrows made by the large rodent, the Vizcacha, are called; for there is always a space free from grass surrounding the burrows where the birds can run freely about. In the sides of the deep pit-like entrance to one of these burrows the bird bores a cylindrical hole, from three to six feet long, and terminating in a circular chamber. This is lined with soft dry grass, and five white eggs are laid.

Though the birds inhabit the Vizcacha village all the year, they seem always to make a fresh hole to breed in every spring, the forsaken holes being given up to the small Swallow, _Atticora cyanoleuca_.

177. GEOBAMON RUFIPENNIS, Burm.

(RED-WINGED MINER.)

+Geobamon rufipennis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 465 (Paraná).

_Description._--Above reddish grey-brown; lores, rim round the eye, cheeks, and body below white; breast tinged with yellowish grey; wings blackish brown, inner webs ferruginous, with their tips and outer basal edges pale ferruginous; tail bright ferruginous, with a broad black transverse band near the tip; bill black, base of under mandible and legs pale brown: whole length 7·0 inches, wing 4·0, tail 2·0.

_Hab._ Paraná.

This form is unknown to us, and we can only give a short translation of Burmeister's description of it. It is said to resemble _Geositta_, but has a much shorter and perfectly straight beak.

178. FURNARIUS RUFUS (Gm.).

(RED OVEN-BIRD.)

+Furnarius rufus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 462 (La Plata); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 61; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 179 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 16 (Buenos Ayres).

_Description._--Above earthy brown, with a slight rufescent tinge, wing-feathers blackish, margined with pale brown; whole of the outer secondaries pale brown, like the back; tail and upper tail-coverts bright ferruginous brown; below white, breast and flanks and under wing-coverts pale sandy-brown; under surface of the wing with a broad sandy bar across the basal portion; bill and feet horn-colour: whole length 7·8 inches, wing 4·0, tail 2·8. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

The Red Oven-bird is an extremely well-known species in Argentina, and, where found, a great favourite on account of its familiarity with man, its loud, ringing, cheerful voice, and its wonderful mud nest, which it prefers to build near a human habitation, often on a cornice, a projecting beam, or on the roof of the house itself.

It is a stout little bird, about 8-1/2 to 9 inches long, with a slender, slightly-curved beak nearly an inch in length, and strong legs suited to its terrestrial habits. The upper plumage is uniform rufous-brown in colour, brightest on the tail; the under surface very light brown. It ranges throughout the Argentine Republic to Bahia Blanca in the south, and is usually named _Hornero_ or _Casera_ (Oven-bird or House-builder), but in Paraguay and Corrientes it is called _Alonzo Garsia_ or _Alonzito_. Azara could give no reason for such a name; but it seems to me that one need not look for one beyond the fact that this species inspires an affectionate admiration in the country people: I mean in those of _Spanish_ origin, for the bird-killing French and Italians have no tenderness for it. I have frequently been assured by natives that the Hornero is a _pious_ bird, and always suspends its labours on sacred days. With this pretty belief about it in their minds, it is not strange that in some districts they have called it by a human name.

It is resident, pairs for life, and finds its food, which consists of larvæ and worms, exclusively on the ground. It delights in open places, where it can move freely about on the ground; and is partial to courtyards, clean garden-walks, &c., where, with head thrown back and bosom prominent, it struts along with an air of great gravity, lifting its foot high at each step, and holding it suspended for a moment in the air before setting it firmly down. I once saw one fly down on to a narrow plank about ten feet long lying out on the wet grass; it walked gravely to the end of the plank, then turned, and deliberately walked back to the other end, and so on for about twenty times, appearing to take the greatest pleasure in the mere act of promenading on a smooth level surface. When disturbed, the Oven-bird has a loud, monotonous note of alarm or curiosity, which never fails to bring all its fellows within hearing-distance to the spot. The movements of a fox, weasel, or cat in a plantation can always be known from the noisy turmoil among the Oven-birds. At frequent intervals during the day the male and female meet and express their joy in clear, resonant notes sung in concert--a habit common to a very large number of Dendrocolaptine birds, including, I think, all those species which pair for life. In a majority of species this vocal performance merely consists of a succession of confused notes or cries, uttered with great spirit and emphasis; in the Oven-bird it has developed into a kind of harmonious singing. Thus, the first bird, on the appearance of its mate flying to the place of meeting, emits loud measured notes, sometimes a continuous trilling note with a somewhat hollow metallic sound; but immediately on the other bird joining, this introductory passage is changed to rapid triplets, strongly accented on the first and last notes, while the second bird utters a series of loud measured notes perfectly according with the triplets of the first. While thus singing they stand facing each other, their necks outstretched, wings hanging, and tails spread, the first bird trembling with its rapid utterances, the second beating on the branch with its wings. The finale consists of three or four notes uttered by the second bird alone, and becoming successively louder and more piercing until the end. There is an infinite variety in the tone in which different couples sing, also in the order in which the different notes are uttered, and even the same couple do not repeat their duet in precisely the same way; but it is always a rhythmical and, to some extent, an harmonious performance, and as the voices have a ringing, joyous character, it always produces a pleasing effect on the mind.