Part 9

The prevailing colour of this little field-sparrow is grey, marked and mixed with fuscous and brown; the shoulder and space between the beak and eye are yellow. It is a common species in the northern portion of the Argentine country, and appears now to be gradually extending its range southwards. Many years ago I first noticed it on the pampas north of Buenos Ayres; afterwards I found it in the immediate neighbourhood of that city; then it began to spread over the plains to the south, appearing every spring in greater numbers, but it is still far from common. It has, I fancy, a limited migration, as I could never find one in winter. It is solitary, and frequents open plains and fields; lives on the ground, and never alights on a tree. The male has a favourite perch, a tall weed or post, where he spends a great deal of his time, repeating his song at intervals of half a minute; it is short and pleasing, and has a slight resemblance to the song of the Yellow-Hammer, but is more delicate and melodious. When approached, the bird flies down and conceals itself in the grass.

82. SALTATRICULA MULTICOLOR, Burm.

(MANY-COLOURED GROUND-FINCH.)

[Plate V.]

+Saltatricula multicolor+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 481 (Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 32; _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 355 (Salta); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Catamarca).

_Description._--Above grey, faintly tinged with olivaceous on the head, neck, and back; a short white stripe behind the eye; beneath the stripe and lower part of neck velvet-black; wings blackish; tail-feathers black, tipped with white; beneath, throat white, breast grey; sides and belly pale chestnut; middle of belly and under tail-coverts white; bill and feet horn-colour: whole length 6·6 inches, wing 2·9, tail 3·0. _Female_ similar, but not so bright.

_Hab._ North and Western Argentina.

To Dr. Burmeister we owe the discovery of this brilliant Finch, as of so many other Argentine species. He met with it at Paraná, in the bushy lands east of the city, and obtained five specimens. White found it near Andalgala in Catamarca, on trees, feeding on the insects in the flowers and on seeds; and Durnford collected specimens near Salta.

Examples of this species were also obtained by Weisshaupt near Mendoza (_cf._ Salvin, Ibis, 1880, p. 355).

83. EMBERNAGRA PLATENSIS (Gm.).

(RED-BILLED GROUND-FINCH.)

+Embernagra platensis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 485 (Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 140 (Buenos Ayres), 1872, p. 548 (Rio Negro), _iid. Nomencl._ p. 32; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 172 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Buenos Ayres, Corrientes); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 40 (R. Colorado, R. Negro); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 132 (Concepcion, Entrerios).

_Description._--Above dull olive-green, striped with blackish; wings silky olive-green, the inner webs of the feathers black; edge of wings yellow; tail-feathers dull olive-green; beneath, throat and breast grey; belly buff; beak bright red; feet pinkish horn-colour: total length 8·8 inches, wing 3·7, tail 3·8. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

In this Finch the plumage is alike in both sexes. Above it is dusky olive-green, beneath grey; the beak is of a fine bright red. In Argentina this bird is most common in the littoral forests along the Plata, but ranges as far south as the Rio Negro in Patagonia. It does not migrate, nor associates in flocks; but the sexes are faithful, and the male and female are invariably together, and appear to be very fond of each other's society. They have a loud, sharp alarm chirp or cry, which bursts from the bird with the startling suddenness of a sneeze from a human being; also a confused unmelodious song, which always reminds me, in its hurry, vehemence, and peculiar sound, of the gobbling of a turkey-cock. They are not shy, but when approached sit jerking their tails about, and uttering loud chirps as if greatly excited. The flight is very curious; the bird springs up with great suddenness, and with tail erect, and the long legs dangling down like a Rail's, proceeds by a series of irregular jerks, violently shutting and opening its wings. They breed on the ground under the grass, and conceal their nest so well that I doubt whether the parasitical _Molothrus_ ever finds it. I have, at all events, never seen them followed by the young of _Molothrus_ demanding food.

As a rule, small seed-eating birds are beneficially affected by the presence of man; thus our common _Zonotrichia_ and other sparrows and finches have become excessively numerous in the most thickly-settled districts. With the Red-billed Finch, however, just the contrary has happened; and since I have known this species it has disappeared from many localities where it was once quite common. Azara's name for this species, _Habia de bañado_, signifies that it is a marsh bird; but though now found chiefly in marshy situations, it was once common enough over the entire pampas region, before the great plains were settled on by Europeans. The bird is very badly protected by nature against raptorial species, owing to its very conspicuous red beak, its habit of perching on the summit of tall plants and other elevated positions, its loud impetuous voice, which invites attention, and the weak eccentric flight, which challenges pursuit. It is essential to its safety that it should have, in the open country it frequents, a dense grass cover into which it can plunge on the slightest alarm. Where cattle are introduced, the original pampas-grass, which afforded the suitable conditions, disappears, giving place to the soft, perishable grasses, clovers, and thistles of Europe. Where these changes take place, the bird cannot escape from its enemies and quickly disappears; while many Dendrocolaptine species inhabiting the same situations are saved by their inconspicuous protective colouring, sharp wedge-like bodies, and swift mouse-like motions on the ground. In marshy places on the pampas, abounding with long aquatic grasses and reed-beds, the Red-bill still maintains its existence, but from its old habitat on the open grassy plains, where it was once the dominant Finch, it has utterly vanished.

84. EMBERNAGRA OLIVASCENS (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(OLIVE GROUND-FINCH.)

+Embernagra olivascens+, _d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 285; _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 485 (Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 32; _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 355; _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 40 (R. Colorado).

_Description._--Similar to _Embernagra platensis_, but the back unstriped, and the olive hue somewhat purer; also the abdomen of a paler buff: total length 8·1 inches, wing 3·7, tail 4·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Bolivia, Western Argentina, and Patagonia.

This species, which was met with by Dr. Burmeister near Mendoza, was found by Dr. Döring as far south as the Rio Colorado, on the pampas.

85. EMBERIZOIDES SPHENURUS (Vieill.).

(WEDGE-TAILED GROUND-FINCH.)

+Embernagra macroura+, _d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 285. +Emberizoides macrurus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 485 (Paraná). +Emberizoides sphenurus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 33.

_Description._--Above yellowish brown, striped with black; shoulders edged with yellow; wing-feathers blackish, edged with olive-green; tail-feathers blackish, edged with pale brown; beneath pale ochraceous brown, white on the throat and middle of the belly; bill and feet pale horn-colour: whole length 8·0 inches, wing 3·1, tail 4·0.

_Hab._ Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.

Burmeister met with this species near Paraná and in other parts of Northern Argentina.

86. HÆMOPHILA WHITII (Sharpe).

(WHITE'S GROUND-FINCH.)

+Zonotrichia whitii+, _Sharpe, Cat. B._ xiii. p. 608, pl. xiii. +Zonotrichia strigiceps+, _White, P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 38 (Cordova).

_Description._--Above, head and neck grey, variegated with dark chestnut; back yellowish brown with black stripes; wings and tail blackish, the feathers edged with pale brown; beneath, throat and belly white, breast pale grey; sides yellowish brown; bill dark horn-colour, lower mandible whitish; feet light horn-colour: whole length 6·0 inches, wing 2·5, tail 2·8.

_Hab._ Northern Argentina.

This species has been based by Mr. Sharpe on a specimen, obtained by White near Cordova, which was wrongly determined as _Zonotrichia strigiceps_--a species that it somewhat resembles in its upper plumage.

87. CHRYSOMITRIS ICTERICA (Licht.).

(BLACK-HEADED SISKIN.)

+Chrysomitris barbata+, _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 140 (Buenos Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 172 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 600 (Catamarca, Misiones); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 40 (R. Sauce, R. Colorado, R. Negro); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 132 (Concepcion). +Chrysomitris magellanica+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 489; _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 30 (Buenos Ayres); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 355 (Salta). +Chrysomitris icterica+, _Sharpe, Cat. B._ xii. p. 217.

_Description._--Above light olive-green; lesser wing-coverts same as the back; wings black, a broad bright yellow band across the base of the feathers; rump yellow; upper tail-coverts olive-green; tail-feathers yellow at the base and black at the ends; head all round and throat velvety black; beneath and under wing-coverts bright yellow: total length 5·0 inches, wing 3·0, tail 1·8. _Female_ without the black on the head, otherwise similar to the male, but less bright.

_Hab._ Brazil and Argentina.

This beautiful little golden-plumaged Finch, the male distinguished from his consort by a brighter yellow colour and a black head, is extremely common throughout the entire length of the Argentine country from Brazil to Patagonia. In the Buenos-Ayrean district it probably has a partial migration, as small flocks are seen to arrive in spring; but further south, in Patagonia, it appears to be strictly resident. In settled districts they are always more abundant than in the woods, and they have a special predilection for poplar groves, and always prefer a poplar to build in. They go in small flocks, seldom more than about a dozen birds together, have a rapid, undulating flight, feed chiefly on the ground like most Finches, and also frequently alight in the seeding-time on plants like the lettuce and _Sonchus asper_ (a common weed) and, clinging to the stem, dexterously pick off the seed, scattering the down about them in a little cloud. They are very tuneful, restless, quick in their motions, apparently always in a light-hearted merry mood. Being much admired for their song, they are often kept in cages; and certainly, for cheerfulness and constancy in singing, they take the foremost place amongst the Finches; but there is little expression in the song, which is composed of a variety of short twittering notes, uttered with great rapidity, as the bird sits perched on a twig or undulates from tree to tree. Usually the notes flow in a continuous stream, but occasionally the bird sings in a different manner, making a pause of two or three seconds of silence after every eight or ten short notes. When the female is on the nest the male sometimes perches near her amongst the leaves and sings _sotto voce_, apparently for her pleasure only, the notes being so low that, at a distance of ten yards, they can scarcely be heard.

The nest is usually placed between the angle formed by a small branch and the bole of the tree, and is a deep, well-made structure composed of many materials, and lined with horsehair, down, or feathers. The eggs are five, very small for the bird, pure white, and so frail that it is not easy to take them from the nest without breaking them.

While engaged in building, the birds constantly utter a low, soft, trilling note; and when the nest is approached they break out into long, somewhat reedy notes, resembling those of the Canary, expressive of alarm or curiosity.

88. CHRYSOMITRIS ATRATA (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(HALF-BLACK SISKIN.)

+Carduelis atratus+, _d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 364, t. 48. fig. 2. +Chrysomitris atrata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 490 (Mendoza); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ xii. p. 212.

_Description._--Black; concealed shoulder-spot, broad band on wing, basal half of tail-feathers, belly, and under tail-coverts bright yellow; bill and feet horn-colour: whole length 5·4 inches, wing 2·9, tail 1·8.

_Hab._ Bolivia and N.W. Argentina.

Dr. Burmeister obtained two examples of this species in the Sierra of Uspallata near Mendoza.

89. SYCALIS PELZELNI, Scl.

(YELLOW HOUSE-SPARROW.)

+Sycalis pelzelni+, _Scl. Ibis_, 1872, p. 42; _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 34; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 172 (Buenos Ayres).

_Description._--Above yellowish olive-green, the back sparsely striped with blackish; wing- and tail-feathers black, edged with yellow; forehead bright orange, the rest of the head like the back; below bright yellow; under surfaces of wings and tail also yellow: total length 5·4 inches, wing 2·7, tail 2·2. _Female_ dull brownish grey mottled with blackish above; under surface whitish grey, striped with dusky brown on the breast; wing- and tail-feathers edged with yellow.

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

The Yellow "House-Sparrow," as this species is called, is the town-bird of Buenos Ayres, but does not multiply greatly, nor is he familiar with man, like his rough, sooty-plumaged, far-away London relation.

The forehead of the male is bright orange, the prevailing colour of the entire plumage yellow, clouded with other hues. The female is grey, marked with pale fuscous, and is less in size than her mate. They remain with us all the year and live in pairs, the sexes in this species being faithful. Sometimes they are seen associating in small flocks, but I am inclined to believe that only the young unmated birds are gregarious. In 1867-8, during the cholera epidemic in Buenos Ayres, the Sparrows all disappeared from the town, and I was told by the manager of a large steam flour-mill in the town that the birds had not gone away, but had died. They were found dead all about the mill where they had been very abundant. My informant was a careful observer, and I have no doubt that he was correct in what he told me.

In spring and summer the male sings frequently with great energy, but without much melody. After a hurried prelude of sharp chirps and trills, he pours out a continuous stream of sound, composed of innumerable brief notes, high and shrill as those of a bat, wounding the ear with their excessive sharpness, and emitted so rapidly that the whole song is more like that of a cicada than of a bird. This piercing torrent of sound is broken at intervals by a long grave note, or half a dozen short rapid notes in a lower key, which come as an agreeable relief.

In towns they build in walls, like the English Sparrow; in country places they always select the domed nest of some Dendrocolaptine species to breed in. Possibly in some districts where I have not been, this Sparrow selects other breeding-sites; my experience is that outside of a town it never lays anywhere but in some domed nest, and at home I frequently put up boxes for them in the trees, but they would not notice them, though the Wrens and Swallows were glad to have them. Sometimes they make choice of the large fabric of the _Anumbius acuticaudatus_, called Leñatero in the vernacular; but their claim to this nest (even when the Leñateros are out of it) is frequently disputed by other species which possess the same habit as this Sparrow, but are more powerful than he. Their favourite breeding-place is, however, the solid earthen structure of the Oven-bird; and it is wonderful to see how persistently and systematically they labour to drive out the lawful owners--birds so much larger and more powerful than themselves. Early in spring, and before the advent of the Tree-Martins, the pair of Sparrows begin haunting the neighbourhood of the oven they have elected to take possession of, usually one pretty high up in a tree. As the season advances their desire towards it increases, and they take up their position on the very tree it is in; and finally a particular branch near the oven, commanding a good view of the entrance, is chosen for a permanent resting-place. Here they spend a great portion of their time in song, twitterings, and loving dalliance, and, if attentively observed, they are seen with eyes ever fixed on the coveted abode. As the need for a receptacle for the eggs becomes more urgent they grow bolder, and in the absence of the owners flit about the oven, alight on it, and even enter it. The Oven-bird appears to drive them off with screams of indignation, but the moment he retires they are about it again, and, even when it contains eggs or young birds, begin impudently carrying in feathers, straws, and other materials for a nest, as if they were already in undisputed possession. At this stage the Tree-Martins (_Progne tapera_) perhaps appear to complicate matters; and even if these last comers do not succeed in ousting the Oven-birds, they are sure to seize the oven when it becomes vacant, and the Sparrows, in spite of their earlier claim, are left out in the cold. But they do not take their defeat quietly, or, rather, they do not know when they are beaten, but still remain to harrass their fellow-pirates, just as they did the Oven-birds before, bringing straws and feathers in their beaks, and when forced to drop these materials and chased from the neighbourhood with great noise and fury by the Tree-Martins, it is only to return undaunted in a few minutes, bringing more straws and feathers.

This Sparrow makes a rather large nest, neatly lined with horsehair, and lays five eggs, long, pointed, the entire surface thickly marked with deep chocolate-brown.

In rural districts this species is comparatively rare, not more than one or two couples being seen about each habitation; and I scarcely think it would be too much to say that there are four or five thousand Chingolos for every individual Yellow Sparrow. Yet it is a hardy little bird, well able to hold its own, subsists on the same kind of food and lays as many eggs as the _Zonotrichia_; and it possesses, moreover, a great advantage over the dominant species in placing its nest out of the reach of the parasitical _Molothrus_, the destroyer of about fifty per cent. of the Chingolo's eggs. I can only attribute the great disparity in the numbers of the two species to the fact that the Yellow House-Sparrow will breed only (out of towns) in nests not easily taken, and to the stubborn pertinacity which leads it to waste the season in these vain efforts, while the other species is rearing its brood. This is a blunder of instinct comparable to that of the Minera (_Geositta cunicularia_), mentioned by Darwin in the 'Voyage of a Naturalist,' where the bird made its hole in a mud wall a few inches wide, and on coming out on the other side simply went back and made another hole, and then another, unable to understand that the wall had not the requisite width.

In such a case as the Yellow House-Sparrow presents, in which the colour of the sexes differs, the female being without any of the brighter hues found in the male, and which makes an elaborate nest and lays deeply-coloured eggs, it is impossible not to believe that the bird originally built in exposed situations, and subsequently--perhaps in very recent times--acquired the habit of breeding in dark holes. The frequent destruction of the exposed nest, and an abundance of vacant domed nests, into which some individuals occasionally penetrated to breed, would lead to the acquisition of such a nesting-habit; for the birds inheriting it would have an advantage and be preserved, while those persisting in the old habit of building exposed nests would perish. Domed nests made by Dendrocolaptine birds are very abundant even now, and it is probable that, before the country became settled by Europeans, they were very much more numerous. Darwin, speaking of the Oven-bird's habit of always placing its oven in the most conspicuous and (to man) accessible places, predicts, and truly I believe, that this habit will eventually cause the extinction of the species; for when the country becomes more thickly settled, the bird-nesting boys will destroy all the ovens. Probably when the Oven-birds were more abundant the Sparrows could always find vacant ovens to breed in, until a habit of breeding almost exclusively in these safe and convenient bird-built houses was acquired; and the present seemingly stupid persistence of the birds in struggling to get possession of those already occupied by stronger species, only shows that the habit or instinct has not been modified to suit a change in the conditions--_i. e._ a diminishing number of ovens to breed in, with, perhaps, the increase of other stronger species possessing the same habit. But while the instinct thus survives too strongly in the country birds, many individuals have taken to a town life, and acquired the new habit of breeding in holes in brick walls. Probably this race of town birds will eventually colonize the rural districts, and usurp the place of the country birds, which will then be placed at a disadvantage.

90. SYCALIS LUTEA (d'Orb. et Lafr.).

(YELLOW SEED-FINCH.)

+Sycalis chloropis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 489 (Mendoza and Catamarca), +Sycalis lutea+, _Scl. Ibis_, 1872, p. 46, pl. ii. fig. 2.

_Description._--Dark yellow; rump and body below brighter; wings and tail brownish black, edged with yellow; under wing-coverts pale yellow; inner margins of wing-feathers pale brown: whole length 5·5 inches, wing 3·2, tail 2·1. _Female_ similar, but duller and more brownish.

_Hab._ Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.

Prof. Burmeister obtained examples of this species near Mendoza. In my revision of the genus published in 1872, I referred the specimens (upon some of which Prof. Burmeister based his species _S. chloropis_) to _S. uropygialis_. I now find that this was an error, and that they really belong to _S. lutea_.--P. L. S.

91. SYCALIS LUTEOLA (Sparrm.).

(MISTO SEED-FINCH.)

+Sycalis luteola+, _Scl. Ibis_, 1872, p. 44; _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 85; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 172 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 394 (Centr. Pat.); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 132 (Entrerios). +Sycalis luteiventris+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 489.

_Description._--Above light olive-green, marked with dusky stripes; wing-feathers blackish, with pale brownish edges; tail-feathers the same; beneath, throat and chest dusky buff, lower breast and belly yellow; bill and feet horn-colour; total length 5·0 inches, wing 2·6, tail 2·0. _Female_ similar, but not so bright.

_Hab._ S. America, from Colombia to Chili.

This is a slender, graceful bird, less than the Canary in size, the whole upper plumage yellowish olive, with dun markings, the lower surface of a dull yellow. The female is a little smaller than the male, and her colours are somewhat dimmer.