Part 8

+Poospiza assimilis+, _Cab. Mus. Hein._ i. p. 137; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 599 (Misiones). +Poospiza lateralis+, _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 130 (Concepcion).

_Description._--Above grey, slight superciliary mark whitish; middle of back and wings washed with rufous; rump bright rufous; tail blackish, two lateral pairs of rectrices broadly tipped with white; beneath grey, white in the middle of the belly; flanks and crissum bright rufous; under wing-coverts greyish white; bill horn-colour, lower mandible yellowish; feet pale brown; whole length 5·0 inches, wing 2·5, tail 2·4.

_Hab._ Northern Argentina.

White found this species abundant amongst the thick weeds and grass in the outskirts of Concepcion. He took it for _P. thoracica_, from which it differs in its rufous rump. It is more like _P. lateralis_.

63. POOSPIZA ORNATA (Landb.).

(PRETTY WARBLING FINCH.)

+Phrygilus ornatus+, _Landb. Journ. f. Orn._ 1865, p. 405. +Poospiza ornata+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 30.

_Description._--Above grey; back more or less varied with chestnut; long superciliaries ochreous white; wings blackish, coverts edged with white, tail black, lateral rectrices broadly tipped with white; beneath dark chestnut, lighter on the middle of the belly; bill and feet dark brown; whole length 5·2 inches, wing 2·4, tail 2·3. _Female_ similar, but paler in colour, especially below.

_Hab._ Mendoza.

64. POOSPIZA TORQUATA (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(RINGED WARBLING FINCH.)

+Poospiza torquata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 484 (Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 30; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 599 (Santiago del Estero); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 38 (R. Colorado).

_Description._--Above grey; wings blackish, the greater wing-coverts tipped with white; tail-feathers black, the two outer on each side tipped with white; from the bill, a broad white stripe extends above the eye to the nape; crown grey; sides of head black; beneath white, the chest crossed with a broad black band; under tail-coverts rufous: total length 5·3 inches, wing 2·5, tail 2·3.

_Hab._ Bolivia and Argentina.

White met with a male of this species in September 1881, at San Pedro, in the province of Santiago. Burmeister found it near Mendoza in the valleys of Sierra de Uspallata.

65. POOSPIZA MELANOLEUCA (Vieill.).

(WHITE-AND-GREY WARBLING FINCH.)

+Poospiza melanoleuca+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 484 (Entrerios); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 30; _Salv. Ibis_, 1880, p. 354, pl. ix. fig. 2 (Tucuman); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 599 (Salta); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 130 (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above, head and neck blackish; back grey; wings and tail blackish, three outer rectrices on each side tipped with white; beneath white; sides washed with grey, breast and belly also faintly tinged with grey: whole length 5·1 inches, wing 2·3, tail 2·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Argentina.

White says that in Salta "this bird frequents the gardens in the vicinity of the houses, where it vigorously pursues the ants amongst the branches of the trees." Mr. Barrows says that near Concepcion it had the general motions and appearance of a Titmouse, thus differing widely from the other members of the genus.

66. PHRYGILUS GAYI (Eyd. et Gerv.).

(GAY'S FINCH.)

+Phrygilus gayi+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487 (Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 599 (Catamarca).

_Description._--Above, head all round, neck, and wing-coverts grey; back and upper tail-coverts olive-green; wings and tail black; beneath, throat grey, breast and belly yellow, washed with olive; crissum and under tail-coverts white; bill and feet black: whole length 6·0 inches, wing 3·5, tail 2·3. _Female_: above obscure olive-green, below yellow.

_Hab._ Chili and Western Argentina.

Burmeister says that this Chilian species is found in the valleys of the Sierras near Mendoza.

67. PHRYGILUS CANICEPS (Burm.).

(GREY-HEADED FINCH.)

+Phrygilus caniceps+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 393 (Chupat); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 130 (Sierra de la Ventana).

_Description._--Above, head, neck, wing- and upper tail-coverts grey; back olivaceous yellow, washed with red; wing and tail-feathers black, edged with grey; beneath, throat grey, breast and belly orange-yellow; crissum and under tail-coverts white; bill horn-colour; feet light brown: whole length 6·8 inches, wing 3·6, tail 2·9.

_Hab._ Argentina.

Of this species, discovered by Dr. Burmeister near Mendoza, Mr. Barrows writes:--"Only met with on the Sierra de la Ventana, where it was abundant in flocks, some of which numbered as many as a hundred individuals. When found near the base of the sierra they were almost always associated with the common _Zonotrichia_. Although most of them had not finished moulting, they were constantly singing, and seemed perfectly contented with their desolate surroundings."

68. PHRYGILUS DORSALIS, Cab.

(RED-BACKED FINCH.)

+Phrygilus dorsalis+, _Cab. Journ. f. Orn._ 1883, p. 109.

_Description._--Ashy grey; back rusty red; wing-coverts blackish; chin, lower belly, and crissum whitish: whole length 6·5 inches, wing 3·7, tail 2·6.

_Hab._ Tucuman.

Schulz discovered this species on the Cerro Vayo of Tucuman, near the snow-line. It reminds one of the North-American species of _Junco_ in its coloration.

69. PHRYGILUS UNICOLOR (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(SLATY FINCH.)

+Phrygilus unicolor+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Cab. J. f. O._ 1878, p. 195 (Cordova). +Phrygilus rusticus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487 (Mendoza).

_Description._--Above nearly uniform slaty grey, below paler, whiter on the middle of the belly; bill dark horn-colour, feet clear brown: whole length 6·0 inches, wing 3·6, tail 2·6. _Female_ cinereous, with blackish shaft-spots above and below; paler on the middle of the belly.

_Hab._ Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Chili, Bolivia, and Northern Argentina.

70. PHRYGILUS FRUTICETI (Kittl.).

(MOURNING FINCH.)

+Phrygilus fruticeti+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii, p. 487 (Cordillera of Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 393 (Chupat); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado, R. Negro). +Emberiza luctuosa+, _Eyd. et Gerv. Mag. de Zool._, 1836, _Ois_, pl. 72.

_Description._--Grey, with minute black markings on the head and neck, and broader stripes on the back; greater coverts and wings black, the feathers edged with grey, and a band of white spots across the coverts; tail black; beneath, throat, and upper part of breast black, many feathers tipped with grey, giving the chest a mottled appearance; lower part of breast and belly grey, mottled below the chest with a few black spots; centre of abdomen and under tail-coverts white; beak yellow; feet flesh-colour: total length 7·3 inches, wing 4·0, tail 3·2. _Female_ obscure grey and without the black colour on the throat and chest.

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and Argentine Republic.

This Finch is common on the western slopes of the Andes as far north as Peru; it is also found in the Mendoza district and throughout Patagonia. It is very abundant on the Rio Negro, especially in the immediate neighbourhood of the Carmen settlements, for, like the Chingolo and other fringilline species, it is beneficially affected by cultivation. Though not possessing any bright tints, it is a very charming bird, tuneful, elegant in form, graceful and buoyant in its motions. When approached it utters a series of low ticking sounds, and at intervals a peculiar long squealing note. The song of the male is very agreeable, and curiously resembles that of the Cachila Pipit (_Anthus correndera_). It usually sits on a twig near the ground, and at intervals soars up to a height of ten or twenty yards, and utters its song while gliding slowly downwards with depressed wings and outspread tail. It sings throughout the year; in bright weather its notes are heard all day long, but on cold, cloudy, or wet days only after sunset. In the warm season they live in pairs, and in the autumn unite in flocks of as many as two or three hundred individuals, and have a strong undulating flight.

71. PHRYGILUS CARBONARIUS (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(BLACKISH FINCH.)

+Phrygilus carbonarius+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487; _Döring, Expl. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 38.

_Description._--Above grey, with brownish-black stripes; wings dusky brown; tail-feathers black; below black, with minute grey marks on the throat and bosom; sides dull grey: total length 5·5 inches, wing 2·9, tail 2·2.

_Hab._ Bolivia, Argentina, and Patagonia.

This species is said to be about one third less than _Phrygilus fruticeti_ in size, but to resemble it closely in colour. Dr. Döring found it abundant in Patagonia between the rivers Colorado and Negro, where it was seen during the cold season in flocks, associating with _Zonotrichia canicapilla_. Burmeister met with it in the Sierra de Uspallata, near Mendoza.

72. GUBERNATRIX CRISTATELLA (Vieill.).

(YELLOW CARDINAL.)

+Gubernatrix cristatella+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 482 (Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 38 (Cordova); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 130 (Concepcion, Entrerios).

_Description._--Above light olive-green, the back marked with a few black stripes; four middle tail-feathers black, edged with olive, all the rest of the tail-feathers bright yellow, tipped with dull olive; broad superciliaries and lower part of the head bright yellow; crown, crest, and throat velvet-black, the black extending to the chest; beneath yellow, washed with olive-green on the breast and sides; bill and feet black: total length 8·0 inches, wing 3·8, tail 3·7. _Female_ less brightly coloured; white on the head where the male is yellow; breast grey.

_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentine Republic.

The Yellow Cardinal is a graceful sprightly bird, with a strong melodious voice, and is one of our favourite cage-birds. It visits Buenos Ayres in small flocks in spring, but is a rare bird with us. There is little variety in its song, which is composed of four or five mellow notes of great power, and in tone somewhat like the whistle of the Blackbird of Europe.

73. DIUCA GRISEA (Less.).

(DIUCA FINCH.)

+Diuca vera+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 483 (Mendoza). +Diuca grisea+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31.

_Description._--Above grey, sides of head darker; wings and tail blackish, edged with grey; lateral rectrices tipped with white; below grey, whole chin and throat and middle of the belly white; lower flanks and crissum stained with rufous; bill plumbeous; feet dark hazel: whole length 6·3 inches, wing 3·3, tail 2·6. _Female_ similar, but tinged with brownish, and colours more obscure.

_Hab._ Chili and Western Argentina.

This well-known Chilian species is said by Burmeister to be not unfrequent near Mendoza and along the range of the Cordilleras.

74. DIUCA MINOR, Bp.

(LESSER DIUCA FINCH.)

+Diuca minor+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 483 (San Louis, Cordova); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 393 (Tombo Point, Pat.); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado, R. Negro); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 131 (Concepcion, Entrerios).

_Description._--Grey; head, neck, and back faintly washed with brown; wings blackish, the feathers edged with brownish grey; tail-feathers black, tipped with white on the inner webs; beneath, from the bill to the chest, white; upper part of breast and sides grey; rest of the under surface white; a bright chestnut spot on the flanks: whole length 6·5 inches, wing 3·2, tail 2·6. _Female_ similar, but less bright than male.

_Hab._ Argentina and Patagonia.

This pretty little grey-and-white Finch is common on the Chilian side of the Andes and throughout Patagonia, and also occurs in the Mendoza district. It is a tuneful bird, lively, social, and frolicsome in disposition; in autumn and winter uniting in flocks of from fifty to three or four hundred individuals; swift of flight, and when on the wing fond of pursuing its fellows and engaging in mock battles. The song of the male is very pleasing, the voice having more depth and mellowness than is usual with the smaller fringilline singers, which, as a rule, have thin, reedy, and tremulous notes. In summer it begins singing very early, even before the faintest indication of coming daylight is visible, and at that dark silent hour the notes may be heard at a great distance and sound wonderfully sweet and impressive. During the cold season, when they live in companies, the singing-time is in the evening, when the birds are gathered in some thick-foliaged tree or bush which they have chosen for a winter roosting-place. This winter-evening song is a hurried twittering, and utterly unlike the serene note of the male bird heard on summer mornings. A little while after sunset the flock bursts into a concert, which lasts several minutes, sinking and growing louder by turns, and during which it is scarcely possible to distinguish the notes of individuals. Then follows an interval of silence, after which the singing is again renewed very suddenly and as suddenly ended. For an hour after sunset, and when all other late singers, like the _Mimus_, have long been silent, this fitful impetuous singing is continued. Close by a house on the Rio Negro, in which I spent several months, there were three very large chañar bushes, where a multitude of Diuca Finches used to roost, and they never missed singing in the evening, however cold or rainy the weather happened to be. So fond were they of this charming habit, that when I approached the bushes or stood directly under them, the alarm caused by my presence would interrupt the performance only for a few moments, and presently they would burst into song again, the birds all the time swiftly pursuing each other amongst the foliage, often within a foot of my head.

The eggs, Darwin says (Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,' iii. p. 93), are pointed, oval, pale dirty green, thickly blotched with pale dull brown, becoming confluent and entirely coloured at the broad end.

75. CATAMENIA ANALIS (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(RED-STAINED FINCH.)

+Catamenia analis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 488 (Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 599 (Catamarca). +Spermophila analis+, _Sharpe, Cat. B._ xii. p. 106.

_Description._--Above clear grey; wing-feathers black, edged with grey; tail black, a large white blotch on the central part of each feather, the two middle feathers excepted; beneath grey, palest on the belly; under tail-coverts rufous: whole length 5·0 inches, wing 2·8, tail 2·2. _Female_, above obscure brownish buff, striped with blackish; beneath dirty white.

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.

Burmeister met with this Finch on the sierras near Mendoza, and White obtained a single specimen in Catamarca.

76. CATAMENIA INORNATA (Lafr.).

(PLAIN-COLOURED FINCH.)

+Sporophila rufirostris+, _Landb. J. f. O._ 1865, p. 404 (Mendoza). +Catamenia inornata+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31. +Spermophila inornata+, _Sharpe, Cat. B._ xii. p. 104.

_Description._--Above dull grey, clearer on the rump; wings and tail blackish, wing-feathers edged with grey; beneath grey, under tail-coverts bright chestnut; bill red; feet brown: whole length 5·0 inches, wing 2·5, tail 2·2.

_Hab._ Bolivia and N. Argentina.

Examples of this species were obtained by Weisshaupt near Mendoza in 1871.

77. ZONOTRICHIA PILEATA (Bodd.).

(CHINGOLO SONG-SPARROW.)

+Zonotrichia pileata+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 139, _iid. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 355 (Salta); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 28 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 131 (Concepcion). +Zonotrichia matutina+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 486.

_Description._--Above dusky grey, striped with blackish brown; the top of the head from the bill to the nape grey; a whitish stripe from the eye to the nape; between the stripe and the grey on the crown black; a narrow chestnut ring round the neck, widening to a large patch on the sides of the chest, the patch bordered with black on its lower part; beneath, throat white; breast and belly ashy white; bill and feet light horn-colour: whole length 5·7 inches, wing 2·8, tail 2·2. _Female_ similar, but duller in colour and a trifle smaller.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

The common, familiar, favourite Sparrow over a large portion of the South-American continent is the "_Chingolo_." Darwin says that "it prefers inhabited places, but has not attained the air of domestication of the English Sparrow, which bird in habits and general appearance it resembles." As it breeds in the fields on the ground, it can never be equally familiar with man, but in appearance it is like a refined copy of the burly English Sparrow--more delicately tinted, the throat being chestnut instead of black; the head smaller and better proportioned, and with the added distinction of a crest, which it lowers and elevates at all angles to express the various feelings affecting its busy little mind.

On the treeless desert pampas the Chingolo is rarely seen, but wherever man builds a house and plants a tree there it comes to keep him company, while in cultivated and thickly settled districts it is excessively abundant, and about Buenos Ayres it literally swarms in the fields and plantations. They are not, strictly speaking, gregarious, but where food attracts them, or the shelter of a hedge on a cold windy day, thousands are frequently seen congregated in one place; when disturbed, however, these accidental flocks immediately break up, the birds scattering abroad in different directions.

The Chingolo is a very constant singer, his song beginning with the dawn of day in spring, and continuing until evening; it is very short, being composed of a chipping prelude and four long notes, three uttered in a clear thin voice, the last a trill. This song is repeated at brief intervals, as the bird sits motionless, perched on the disc of a thistle-flower, the summit of a stalk, or other elevation; and where the Chingolos are very abundant, the whole air, on a bright spring morning, is alive with their delicate melody; only one must pause and listen before he is aware of it, otherwise it will escape him, owing to its thin ethereal character, the multitudinous notes not mingling but floating away, as it were, detached and scattered, mere gossamer webs of sound that very faintly impress the sense. They also sing frequently at night, and in that dark silent time their little melody sounds strangely sweet and expressive. The song varies greatly in different districts; thus, in Bahia Blanca it is without the long trill at the end, and in other localities I have found it vary in other ways.

The Chingolos pair about the end of September, and at that time their battles are frequent, as they are very pugnacious. The nest is made under a thistle or tuft of grass, in a depression in the soil, so that the top of the nest is on a level with the surface of the ground. The nest is mostly made and lined with horse-hair, the eggs four or five, pale blue, and thickly spotted with dull brown. Sometimes, though very rarely, a nest is found in a bush or on a stump several feet above the ground. Two broods are reared in the season, the first in October, the second in February or March. I have known these birds to breed in April and May, and these very late nests escape the infliction of parasitical eggs. When the nest is approached or taken, the Chingolos utter no sound, but sit in dumb anxiety, with tail expanded and drooping wings.

78. ZONOTRICHIA CANICAPILLA, Gould.

(PATAGONIAN SONG-SPARROW.)

+Zonotrichia canicapilla+, _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 33 (Chupat), et 1878, p. 393 (Centr. Patag.); _Sclater, Ibis_, 1877, p. 46, pl. 1. fig. 1; _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado, R. 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.