Chapter III: Introduction (2)

_Description._--Above pale sandy brown, variegated with black
streaks; head darker brown, streaked with black; the hind neck paler
brown, with narrow black streaks; wing-coverts brown; tail-feathers
dark sandy brown, barred with blackish brown; under surface pale
sandy buff: total length 4·3 inches, wing 1·85, tail 1·6. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ Argentina, Patagonia, and Falkland Islands.

This small Wren is rarely seen, being nowhere common, although widely distributed. It prefers open grounds covered with dense reeds and grasses, where it easily escapes observation. I have met with it near Buenos Ayres city; also on the desert pampas, in the tall pampas-grass. It is likewise met with along the Paraná river, and in Chili, Patagonia, and the Falkland Islands. In the last-named locality Darwin found it common, and says that it has there an extremely feeble flight, so that it may easily be run down and taken.

The Marsh-Wren has a sweet and delicate song, resembling that of the House-Wren (_Troglodytes furvus_), but much less powerful. It does not migrate; and on the pampas I have heard it singing with great animation when the pampas-grass, where it sat perched, was white with frozen dew. Probably its song, like that of _Troglodytes furvus_, varies in different districts; at all events, the pampas bird does not possess so fine a song as Azara ascribes to his "Todo Voz" in Paraguay, which is undoubtedly the same species.

Fam. V. MOTACILLIDÆ, or WAGTAILS.

The Wagtails and Pipits are closely-allied forms, and are usually referred to the same family of Oscines. The Wagtails are restricted to the Old World, although it has been recently ascertained that some of them occasionally occur as stragglers in the northern latitudes of America. Of the almost cosmopolitan Pipits about eight or nine species are sparingly distributed over the prairies and pampas of the New World. One of these is a common resident in the pampas of Argentina, and another (perhaps somewhat doubtful species) is occasionally met with.

15. ANTHUS CORRENDERA, Vieill.

(CACHILA PIPIT.)

+Anthus correndera+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 8; _Hudson, P. Z.
S._ 1873, p. 771 (Buenos Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 32
(Chupat), p. 168 (Buenos Ayres), 1878, p. 392 (Central
Patagonia); _Sclater, Ibis_, 1878, p. 362; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 594 (Buenos Ayres); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._
p. 37 (Azul); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 87
(Concepcion, Entrerios); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 610. +Anthus
rufus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 474 (Mendoza, Paraná);
_Durnford, Ibis_, 1876, p. 158.

_Description._--Above pale sandy buff, mottled with black centres
to the feathers; wing- and tail-feathers dark brown, edged with
buff, the penultimate tail-feather with a white tip, the outer
tail-feather almost entirely white; neck and breast sandy buff, with
large triangular black spots; flanks buff, streaked with black;
abdomen and under tail-coverts isabelline; bill dusky grey; feet
pink: total length 6·0 inches, wing 2·9, tail 2·3. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Paraguay, Argentina, Patagonia, and Chili.

Azara's only reason for calling this bird _La Correndera_ was because he thought it resembled a Tit-Lark known by that name in his own country, but of which he merely had a confused recollection. It is therefore to be regretted, I think, that _correndera_ has been adopted as a specific name by naturalists instead of "Cachila," the vernacular name of the bird, familiar to every one in the Argentine country. Azara's Spanish bird was probably _Anthus pratensis_, which closely resembles _A. correndera_ in general appearance, and has, moreover, as wide a range in the northern as the last-named species has in the southern hemisphere. In the volume on Birds in the 'Voyage of the Beagle,' it is said that a species of _Anthus_ ranges further south than any other land-bird, being the only land-bird found on Georgia and South Orkney (lat. 61° S.).

In colour and language, possibly also in size, the Cachila is variable. It is a very common bird, widely and plentifully distributed over the pampas, found alike on marshy and dry grounds, but rare in the region of giant grasses. While abundant, it is also very evenly dispersed, each bird spending its life on a very circumscribed plot of earth. Those frequenting marshy or moist grounds are of a yellowish-cream colour, thickly mottled and striped with fuscous and black, and have two narrow parallel pure white marks on the back, very conspicuous when the bird is on the ground. The individuals frequenting high and dry grounds are much paler in hue, appearing almost grey, and do not show the white marks on the back. They also look larger than the birds on marshy lands; but this appearance is probably due to a looser plumage. The most strongly-marked pale and dark-plumaged variations may be found living within a few hundred yards of each other, showing how strictly each bird keeps to its own little "beat"; for this difference in coloration is, no doubt, due entirely to the amount of moisture in the ground they live on.

The Cachilas are resident, living in couples all the year round, the sexes being faithful. Several pairs frequent a small area, and sometimes they unite in a desultory flock; but these gatherings are not frequent. In the evening, at all seasons, immediately after the sun has set, the Cachilas all rise to a considerable height in the air and fly wildly about, chirping for a few minutes, after which they retire to roost.

When approached they frequently rise up several feet from the ground and flutter in the air, chirping sharply, with breast towards the intruder. This is a habit also found in Synallaxine species inhabiting the grassy plains. But, as a rule, the Cachilas are the tamest of feathered creatures, and usually creep reluctantly away on their little pink feet when approached. If the pedestrian is a stranger to their habits they easily delude him into attempting their capture with his hat, so little is their fear of man.

To sing, the Cachila mounts upwards almost vertically, making at intervals a fluttering pause, accompanied with a few hurried notes. When he has thus risen to a great height (but never beyond sight as Azara says) he begins the descent slowly, the wings inclining upwards; and, descending, he pours forth long impressive strains, each ending with a falling inflection or with two or three short throat-notes as the bird pauses fluttering in mid-air, and then renewed successively until, when the singer is within 3 or 4 feet of the earth, without alighting he reascends as before to continue the performance. It is a very charming melody, and heard always on the treeless plains when there is no other bird-music, with the exception of the trilling and grasshopper-like notes of a few Synallaxine species. But in character it is utterly unlike the song of the Sky-Lark with its boundless energy, hurry, and abandon; and yet it is impossible not to think of the Sky-Lark when describing the Cachila, which, in its manners, appearance, and in its habit of soaring to a great height when singing, seems so like a small copy of that bird.

The Cachila rears two broods in the year; the first is hatched about the middle of August, that is, one to three months before the laying-season of other Passerine species. By anticipating the breeding-season their early nests escape the evil of parasitical eggs; but, on the other hand, frosty nights and heavy rains are probably as fatal to as many early broods as the instinct of the _Molothrus bonariensis_, or Cow-bird, is to others at a later period.

The second brood is reared in December, the hottest month, and in that season a large proportion of their nests contain parasitical eggs.

The nest is placed in a slight hollow in the ground, under a tussock of grass, and is sometimes elaborately made and lined with horsehair and fine grass, and sometimes with a few materials loosely put together. During the solstitial heats I have frequently found nests with frail shades, built of sticks and grass, over them, the short withered grass affording an insufficient protection from the meridian sun. The eggs are four, elongated, with a dirty white and sometimes a dull bluish ground, thickly spotted with dusky brown and drab. In some eggs the spots are confluent, the whole shell being of a dull brownish-drab colour.

The manners of this species, where I have observed it, are always the same; it lives on the ground on open plains, where the herbage and grass is short, and never perches on trees. The song varies considerably in different districts.

16. ANTHUS FURCATUS, d'Orb. et Lafr.

(FORKED-TAIL PIPIT.)

+Anthus furcatus+, _d'Orb. Voy._ p. 227 (Patagonia); _Darwin, Zool.
Voy. 'Beagle'_, iii. p. 85 (La Plata); _Sclater, Ibis_, 1878, p.
364; _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 37 (Azul,
Carhué-pampas); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 605.

_Description._--Similar to _A. correndera_, but with a smaller bill,
shorter and more curved hind claw, less spotted under surface, and
different marking of the second outer rectrix, which has a clear and
distinct white line along the inner side of the shaft: total length
6·0 inches, wing 3·2, tail 2·4.

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.

One of the Pipits procured at Conchitas belongs to this species, if distinct from the former. I think I recollect it as a resident on the pampas, closely resembling the Cachila in flight and language, but much shyer, and usually found concealed under Tulu grass on dry grounds.

Fam. VI. MNIOTILTIDÆ, or WOOD-SINGERS.

The Mniotiltidæ, or Wood-singers, are a well-known and very characteristic family of the New World, where they occupy the position of our Sylviidæ. They number some 130 or 140 species, distributed all over America down to La Plata, but most abundant in the southern portions of North America, where the favourite and beautiful genus _Dendroeca_, with about 100 species, plays an important part. In Argentina only four species have as yet been met with.

17. PARULA PITIAYUMI (Vieill.).

(PITIAYUMI WOOD-SINGER.)

+Parula pitiayumi+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 8; _Durnford, Ibis_,
1876, p. 158, 1877, p. 168 (Buenos Ayres); _Salv. Ibis_, 1880,
p. 352 (Tucuman); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 594 (Catamarca,
Misiones); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 87
(Concepcion, Entrerios); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 259, pl. xi.
fig. 1. +Sylvicola venusta+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 473
(Paraná, Tucuman).

_Description._--Above clear blue; mantle and upper back olive-yellow;
central tail-feathers blue, all the others, also the quills,
blackish; cheeks and under surface of body bright yellow; lower
abdomen and under tail-coverts white; upper mandible black, lower
yellow; eye brown: total length 4·0 inches, wing 2·05, tail 1·55.
_Female_ similar, but much paler in colour.

_Hab._ South America.

This is a southern representative of a small group of Wood-warblers, which is extensively diffused in the New World.

The upper plumage of this small bird is mostly cerulean-blue, the breast and belly yellow. Its Guarani name, according to Azara, is "_Pitiayume_," which means little yellow-breast. I have never heard it sing or utter any note beyond a very feeble chirp as it hops about through the foliage in quest of small caterpillars. Its migration extends south to Buenos Ayres, where it is seen in woods and thickets in pairs or singly; but it is a rare bird, and I have been unable to find out anything about its nesting-habits.

18. GEOTHLYPIS VELATA (Vieill.).

(VEILED WOOD-SINGER.)

+Geothlypis velata+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 9; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 594 (Salta); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 87
(Concepcion, Entrerios); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 363, pl. ix.
fig. 5.

_Description._--Above yellowish green; the wing-coverts like
the back; wing-feathers dusky brown, edged with olive-yellow;
tail-feathers olive-green; crown of head to the occiput blue-grey;
from the forehead a black mark extends to the eye and downward to
the cheek; throat and under surface bright yellow; bill black; feet
pale brown; eye brown: total length 5·6 inches, wing 2·4, tail 2·4.
_Female_ similar, but without the black on the face.

_Hab._ Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina.

This is again the only species of a North- and Central-American genus which ranges so far south as Buenos Ayres. It visits us in summer, and is found singly or in pairs in woods and large plantations. It feeds both on the ground and in trees, and, while gleaning amongst the leaves, frequently pauses to utter its loud cheerful song, composed of seven or eight clear notes uttered with rapidity and emphasis.

19. BASILEUTERUS AURICAPILLUS, Sw.

(GOLDEN-CROWNED WOOD-SINGER.)

+Basileuterus auricapillus+, _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 393.
+Basileuterus vermivorus+, _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1865, p. 283; _Scl. et
Salv. Nomencl._ p. 10; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 594 (Misiones).

_Description._--Above olive-yellow, lightest on the rump and upper
tail-coverts; tail-feathers ashy brown, with yellowish margins;
quills dusky; crown of head light orange-chestnut; nape and hind
neck pale ashy grey; on each side of the crown a broad black stripe
extending from the bill to the hind neck, also a streak of ashy
white above the eye; under surface bright yellow; axillaries and
under wing-coverts white; bill and feet brownish: total length 4·5
inches, wing 2·2, tail 2·05. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South America.

This species, which is widely spread over the northern portion of South America, was found in Paraguay by Azara, and in the province of Misiones by White.

20. SETOPHAGA BRUNNEICEPS, d'Orb. et Lafr.

(BROWN-CAPPED WOOD-SINGER.)

+Setophaga brunneiceps+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 473
(Tucuman); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 11; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 595 (Catamarca); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 428.

_Description._--General colour dull olive-yellowish; wing-coverts
dark slaty grey; quills blackish; upper tail-coverts slaty grey,
washed with olive; tail-feathers blackish--the outer pair white, the
next pair white edged with black on the outer web, the third pair
with a large white mark at the end; crown of head deep chestnut;
neck slaty grey; under surface of body bright yellow; under tail-
and wing-coverts white: total length 5·0 inches, wing 2·45, tail
2·4. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Bolivia and Northern Argentina.

White obtained a pair of these birds on the Sierra of Totoral, Catamarca, in July 1880. He describes them as quick in their movements and difficult to shoot. The species was originally discovered by d'Orbigny in Bolivia.

Fam. VII. VIREONIDÆ, or GREENLETS.

Three of the groups of the peculiar American family of Greenlets, allied to our Shrikes, have representatives within the Argentine Republic. The genera _Vireo_ and _Hylophilus_ both extend, each in the shape of one of its South-Brazilian members, into the woodlands of the Paraná; while _Cyclorhis_, another genus also widely spread over South and Central America, has two representatives within our area. One of these latter is well known in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres; the other is only found in the extreme north of the Republic.

21. VIREOSYLVIA CHIVI (Vieill.).

(CHIVI GREENLET.)

+Contramaestre gaviero+, _Azara, Apunt._ ii. p. 34. +Sylvia chivi+,
_Vieill. N. D._ xi. p. 174. +Vireosylvia chivi+, _Baird, Rev. A.
B._ p. 337; _Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1869, p. 160 (Buenos Ayres);
_Berl. et Jher. Zeitschr. ges. Orn._ 1885, p. 115. +Vireo chivi+,
_Gadow, Cat. B._ viii. p. 295.

_Hab._ South America, from Colombia down to Buenos Ayres.

A single specimen of this Greenlet was found in a collection made by Mr. Haslehurst near Buenos Ayres. As the species occurs in Rio Grande do Sul (_Berlepsch_) and Paraguay (_Azara_), its occasional appearance in Eastern Argentina is quite probable. Whether the bird is really distinct from the widespread _Vireo olivaceus_ seems to be a question which is not yet finally settled.

Azara, describing this species, says it is one of the commonest in deep woods, where it moves about among the terminal twigs, without ever rising to the tops of the trees or flying down to the brush or the ground. It is active, and extremely restless in manner; and in searching after and taking the small insects and spiders on which it lives it climbs about the twigs, assuming every position, and frequently suspending itself, head downwards, by its feet. It has a full pleasing voice of considerable power, heard incessantly in the woods, particularly in the love-season. The nest is a slender beautiful structure, even surpassing that of the Humming-birds, constructed of thin dry leaves outside, smoothly attached to the rest with spiders' webs, while the inside is formed of fine fibres and cotton.

22. HYLOPHILUS POECILOTIS, Max.

(BROWN-HEADED WOOD-BIRD.)

+Hylophilus poecilotis+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 12; _Scl. Ibis_,
1881, p. 300; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 595 (Misiones); _Gadow,
Cat. B._ viii. p. 308.

_Description._--Crown of head and nape rich rufous-brown; all the
rest of the upper parts, including the entire tail and wing-coverts
and the outer webs of the remiges, rich olive-green; cheeks and
upper throat whitish; ear-coverts blackish, with white central
streaks; under wing-coverts, axillaries, inner margin of remiges,
and under tail-coverts lemon-yellow; rest of underparts dull yellow,
washed with olive on the breast and flanks, and inclining to pale
ochreous on the abdomen; bill dark flesh-colour; feet hazel: total
length 4·5 inches, wing 2·2, tail 2·2. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina.

This South-Brazilian species was met with by White near San Javier, in the province of Misiones, in June 1881.

23. CYCLORHIS OCHROCEPHALA.

(OCHRE-HEADED GREENLET-SHRIKE.)

[Plate III. Fig. 1.]

+Cyclorhis viridis+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 472; _Scl. et
Salv. Nomencl._ p. 13; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 58 (Punta
Lara); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 595 (Buenos Ayres); _Gadow,
Cat. B._ viii. p. 318. +Cyclorhis ochrocephala+, _Tsch. Arch. f.
Nat._ 1845, pt. i. p. 362; _Berl. et Jher. Zeitschr. ges. Orn._
1885, p. 116.

_Description._--Above olive-green; cap brownish ochraceous, more or
less rufescent; front and superciliaries chestnut-red; sides of head
clear grey, beneath pale buff; breast and flanks yellow; throat
greyish white; bill reddish grey, feet grey; eye reddish: total
length 7·0 inches, wing 3·4, tail 2·8. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Middle districts of Argentina.

This species is not uncommon in the woods along the shores of the Plata, and may be easily known to any person penetrating them by its loud "cheerful soliloquy," for that phrase of Mr. Barrows, the North-American writer on birds, well describes the artless, light-hearted song which it utters at intervals while it roams about in the deep foliage, and which reminds one of the careless whistling of a boy, whistling merely to express his gaiety, but without having any particular tune in his mind. It is migratory, and extends its range south of Buenos Ayres.

24. CYCLORHIS ALTIROSTRIS, Salvin.

(DEEP-BILLED GREENLET-SHRIKE.)

[Plate III. Fig. 2.]

+Cyclorhis altirostris+, _Salv. Ibis_, 1880, p. 352; _Gadow, Cat. B._
viii. p. 319. +Cyclorhis viridis+, _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn.
Cl._ viii. p. 88 (Concepcion, Entrerios); _Berl. et Jher.
Zeitschr. ges. Orn._ 1885, p. 116.

_Description._--Above olive-green; head more or less rufescent;
front and superciliaries chestnut-red; sides of head grey, beneath
pale ochraceous; breast and sides yellow; throat greyish; bill short
and thick, pale reddish, with a black blotch at the base of the
lower mandible; feet reddish: total length 6·5 inches, wing 3·3,
tail 3·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Paraguay and Northern Argentina.

This species was met with by Durnford near Salta in June 1878. He describes the iris as "light rufous; upper mandible dark slate, under mandible, legs, and feet pale slate."

Mr. Salvin founded his _C. altirostris_ upon Durnford's specimens, but Graf v. Berlepsch is of opinion that this species is the "_Habia verde_" of Azara, and should consequently bear the name "_viridis_" of Vieillot. This is perhaps correct, but at the same time it would only make fresh confusion to transfer to this species the name hitherto usually applied to the preceding bird. We prefer, consequently, to let it stand under Mr. Salvin's name "_altirostris_."

Fam. VIII. HIRUNDINIDÆ, or SWALLOWS.

The cosmopolitan family of Swallows, of which about eighty species are known, is well developed in the New World, where some thirty representatives occur in various parts. In Argentina the occurrence of eight Swallows has been recorded. Three of them belong to the group of Purple Martins (_Progne_), which is restricted to the New World, and of the remainder four are members of genera entirely restricted to the Neotropical Region. The genus _Petrochelidon_, of which one species is met with in La Plata, has alone representatives in the Eastern Hemisphere.

25. PROGNE FURCATA, Baird[3].

(PURPLE MARTIN.)

+Progne purpurea+, _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 548 (Patagonia);
_Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 605; _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14;
_Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 32 (Chupat), 1878, p. 392 (Central
Patagonia); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 595 (Buenos Ayres).
+Progne elegans+, _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 89
(Bahia Blanca). +Progne furcata+, _Baird, Rev. A. B._ p. 278;
_Sharpe, Cat. A. B._ x. p. 175.

_Description._--Uniform deep purple-blue; on each side of the back a
small concealed tuft of white feathers; tail-feathers black, washed
with blue: total length 7·7 inches, wing 5·55, tail 3·3. _Female_:
upper parts dull purple; head, neck, and lower parts blackish brown.

_Hab._ Argentina and Patagonia.

The Purple Martin is occasionally seen in the eastern provinces of La Plata when migrating, but has not been found nesting anywhere so far north as Buenos Ayres. I met with it breeding at Bahia Blanca on the Atlantic coast, and on the Rio Negro, where it is very common. It arrives in Patagonia late in September, and leaves before the middle of February. On the 14th of that month I saw one flock flying north, but it was the last. It breeds in holes under the caves of houses or in walls, and its nest is like that of _P. chalybea_; but many also breed in holes in the steep banks of the Rio Negro. They do not, however, excavate holes for themselves, but take possession of natural crevices and old forsaken burrows of the Burrowing Parrot (_Conurus patachonicus_). In size, flight, manners, and appearance the Purple Martin closely resembles the following species, the only difference being in the dark plumage of the under surface. The language of the two birds is also identical; the loud excited scream when the nest is approached, the various other notes when the birds sweep about in the air, and the agreeably modulated and leisurely-uttered song are all possessed by the two species without the slightest difference in strength or intonation. This circumstance appears very remarkable to me, because, though two species do sometimes possess a few notes alike, the greater part of their language is generally different; also because birds of the same species in different localities vary more in language than in any other particular. This last observation, however, applies more to resident than to migratory species.

[3] [I here follow Mr. Sharpe in considering the Purple Martin of
Argentina and Patagonia separable from the closely allied northern
species of North America. But I am altogether sceptical about its
occurrence in Chili, which Dr. Philippi expressly diaries (P. Z. S.
1868 p. 534) and for which I know of no good authority.--P. L. S.]

26. PROGNE CHALYBEA (Gm.).

(DOMESTIC MARTIN.)

+Progne chalybea+, _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 606 (Buenos Ayres); _Scl.
et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 595 (Buenos
Ayres); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 88 (Concepcion);
_Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 178. +Progne domestica+, _Burm. La-Plata
Reise_, ii. p. 477; _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 177.

_Description._--Entire upper parts deep purple-blue; lesser and
median wing-coverts the same; wing- and tail-feathers black, glossed
with steel-blue; throat, fore neck, and chest ash colour; breast,
abdomen, and under tail-coverts pure white; bill and feet black:
total length 8 inches, wing 5·7, tail 3·2. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

This species, distinguished from the Purple Martin by its white underparts, ranges from Mexico to Buenos Ayres, the extreme limit of its range being about 250 miles south of that city. It was well called _Golondrina domestica_ by Azara, being preeminently domestic in its habits. It never breeds in banks as the Purple Martin often does, or in the domed nests of other birds in trees, a situation always resorted to by the Tree-Martin, and occasionally by the Common Swallow; but is so accustomed to the companionship of man as to make its home in populous towns as well as in country-houses. It arrives in Buenos Ayres about the middle of September, and apparently resorts to the same breeding-place every year. A hole under the eaves is usually selected, and the nest is roughly built of dry grass, hair, feathers, and other materials. When the entrance to its breeding-hole is too large, it partially closes it up with mud mixed with straw; if there be two entrances it stops up one altogether. The bird does not often require to use mud in building; it is the only one of our Swallows that uses such a material at all. The eggs are white, long, pointed, and five in number.

In the season of courtship this Martin is a noisy pugnacious bird, and always, when quitting its nest, utters an exceedingly loud startling cry several times repeated. It also has a song, uttered both when resting and on the wing, composed of several agreeably modulated notes, and in that thick rolling intonation peculiar to our Swallows. This song does not sound loud when near, yet it can be distinctly heard when the bird appears but a speck in the distance. I may here remark that, with the exception of the _Petrochelidon pyrrhonota_, which possesses a sharp squeaky voice, like the Swallows of Europe, all our Hirundines have soft voices: their usual twittering when they are circling about resembles somewhat the chirping of the English House-Sparrow in tone, but besides these notes they possess a song more pleasing to the ear.

Before leaving in February these birds congregate in parties of from twenty to four or five hundred, usually on the broad leafy top of an old ombú tree.

27. PROGNE TAPERA (Linn.).

(TREE-MARTIN.)

+Progne tapera+, _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 606 (Buenos Ayres); _Scl.
et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 168 (Buenos
Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 595 (Catamarca); _Barrows,
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 89 (Concepcion); _Sharpe, Cat. B._
x. p. 180. +Cotyle tapera+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 477.

_Description._--Entire upper parts dull brown; tail-feathers
blackish brown; throat ashy white; fore neck and chest ashy brown
in the centre and dark brown on the sides, as are also the flanks;
abdomen white; bill and feet horn-colour: total length 7 inches,
wing 5·5, tail 2·6. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina.

The Tree-Martin is more slender and has a greater extent of wing than the Purple Martins; and, instead of the beautiful dark purple (their prevailing colour), its entire upper plumage is dusky brown, the under surface white. But if these differences of structure and hue merely serve to show that it is not a very near relative of the other species, those exhibited in its habits remove it very far indeed from them.

The Tree-Martin is a very garrulous bird, and no sooner arrives early in September, than we are apprised of the circumstance by the notes which the male and female incessantly sing in concert, fluttering and waving their wings the while, and seeming quite beside themselves with joy at their safe arrival; for invariably they arrive already mated. Their language is more varied, the intonation bolder and freer than that of our other Swallows. The length of the notes can be varied at pleasure; some are almost harsh, others silvery or liquid, as of trickling drops of water; they all have a glad sound; and many have that peculiar character of some bird-notes of shaping themselves into words.

This Martin is never seen to alight on the ground or on the roofs of houses, but solely on trees; and when engaged in collecting materials for its nest, it sweeps down and snatches up a feather or straw without touching the surface. It breeds only in the clay-ovens of the Oven-bird (_Furnarius rufus_). I, at least, have never seen them breed in any other situation after observing them for a great many summers. An extraordinary habit! for, many as are the species that possess the parasitical tendency of breeding in other birds' nests, none of them confine themselves to the nest of a single species excepting the bird I am describing. It must, however, be understood that my knowledge of this bird has been acquired in Buenos Ayres, where I have observed it; and as this Martin possesses a wider range in South America than the Oven-birds, it is more than probable that in other districts it builds in different situations.

On arriving in spring each pair takes up its position on some tree, and usually on a particular branch; a dead branch extending beyond the foliage is a favourite perch. Here they spend much of their time, never appearing to remain long absent from it, and often, when singing their notes together, fluttering about it with a tremulous uncertain flight, like that of a hovering butterfly. About three weeks after first arriving they begin to make advances towards the Oven-bird's nest that stands on the nearest post or tree; and if it be still occupied by the rightful owners, after much time has been spent in sporting about and reconnoitring it, a feud begins which is often exceedingly violent and protracted for many days.

In seasons favourable to them the Oven-birds build in autumn and winter, and breed early in spring; so that their broods are out of their clay-houses by the end of October or earlier; when this happens, the Swallow that breeds in November quietly takes possession of the forsaken fortress. But accidents will happen, even to the wonderful fabric of the Oven-bird. It is sometimes destroyed and must be rebuilt; or its completion has perhaps been retarded for months by drought, or by the poor condition of the birds in severe weather; or the first brood has perhaps perished, destroyed by an opossum or other enemy. November, and even December, may thus arrive before some pairs have hatched their eggs; and it is these unfortunate late breeders that suffer from the violence of the marauding Swallows. I have often witnessed the wars of these birds with the deepest interest; and in many ovens that I have opened I have found the eggs of the Oven-birds buried under the nests of the Swallows. After the Swallows have taken up a position near the coveted oven, they occasionally fly towards and hover about it, returning again to their stand. By-and-by, instead of returning as at first, they take to alighting at the entrance of the coveted home; this is a sort of declaration of war, and marks the beginning of hostilities. The Oven-birds, full of alarm and anger, rush upon and repel them as often as they approach; they retire before this furious onset, but not discomfited, and only warbling out their gay seemingly derisive notes in answer to the outrageous indignant screams of their enemies. Soon they return; the scene is repeated; and this desultory skirmishing is often continued for many days.

But at length the lawless invaders, grown bolder, and familiar with his strength and resources, will no longer fly from the master of the house; desperate struggles now frequently take place at the entrance, the birds again and again dropping to the ground clutched fiercely together, and again hurrying up only to resume the combat. Victory at last declares itself for the aggressors, and they busy themselves carrying in materials for their nest, screaming their jubilant notes all the time as if in token of triumph. The brave and industrious Oven-birds, dispossessed of their home, retire to spend their childless summer together, for the male and female never separate; and when the autumn rains have supplied them with wet clay, and the sense of defeat is worn off, they cheerfully begin their building-operations afresh.

This is not, however, the invariable result of the conflict. To the superior swiftness of the Martin the Oven-bird opposes greater strength, and, it might be added, a greater degree of zeal and fury than can animate its adversary. The contest is thus nearly an equal one; and the Oven-bird, particularly when its young are already hatched, is often able to maintain its own. But the Martins never suffer defeat; for, when unable to take the citadel by storm, they fall back on their dribbling system of warfare, which they keep up till the young birds leave the nest, when they take possession before it has grown cold.

The Martin makes its own nest chiefly of large feathers, and lays four eggs, long, pointed, and pure white.

It will be remarked that in all its habits above mentioned this bird differs widely from the two preceding species. It also differs greatly from them in its manner of flight. The Purple Martins move with surprising grace and celerity, the wings extended to their utmost; they also love to sail in circles high up in the air, or about the summits of tall trees, and particularly during a high wind. At such times several individuals are usually seen together, and all seem striving to outvie each other in the beauty of their evolutions.

The Tree-Martin is never seen to soar about in circles; and though when hawking after flies and moths it sweeps the surface of the grass with amazing swiftness, at other times it has a flight strangely slow and of a fashion peculiar to itself: the long wings are depressed as much as those of a Wild Duck when dropping on to the water, and are constantly agitated with tremulous flutterings, short and rapid as those of a butterfly.

Neither is this bird gregarious like all its congeners, though occasionally an individual associates for a while with Swallows of another species; but this only when they are resting on fences or trees, for as soon as they take flight it leaves them. Once or twice, when for some mysterious cause the autumnal migration has been delayed long past its usual time, I have seen them unite in small flocks; but this is very rare. As a rule they have no meetings preparatory to migration, but skim about the fields and open plains in un-Swallow-like solitude, and suddenly disappear without having warned us of their intended departure.

28. PETROCHELIDON PYRRHONOTA (Vieill.).

(RED-BACKED ROCK-MARTIN.)

+Petrochelidon pyrrhonota+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1877, p. 169; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 595 (Buenos
Ayres); _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 193. +Cotyle pyrrhonota+, _Burm.
La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 477 (Tucuman).

_Description._--Above glossy dark steel-blue; lower back and rump
cinnamon-rufous; the upper tail-coverts brown, with grey margins;
wings black; tail black, with greenish gloss; crown steel-blue;
forehead sandy buff; cheeks and sides of face chestnut, spreading
to the sides of the hind neck; chin chestnut; the lower throat
steel-blue; fore neck, chest, and sides of body and flanks light
ashy brown; centre of breast and abdomen white, tinged with brown;
under tail-coverts, also under wing-coverts and axillaries, ashy
brown: total length 5·3 inches, wing 4·35, tail 2·05. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ South America.

This species does not breed in Buenos Ayres, and is only seen there in spring, flying south or south-west, and again in much larger numbers on its return journey in autumn. On the Rio Negro, in Patagonia, I did not meet with it, and suppose its summer resort must be south of that locality; and, judging from the immense numbers visible in some seasons, I should think that they must, in their breeding-place in Patagonia, occupy a very extensive area. They do not seem to be as regular in their movements as other Swallows here; some years I have observed them passing singly or in small parties during the entire hot season: usually they begin to appear, flying north, in February; but in some years not until after the middle of March. They are not seen passing with a rapid flight in close flocks, but straggle about, hawking after flies: first one bird passing, then two or three, and a minute or two later half a dozen, and so on for a greater part of the day. So long as the weather continues warm they journey in this leisurely manner; but I have known them to continue passing till April, after all the summer migrants had left us, and these late birds flew by with great speed in small close flocks, directly north, as if their flight had been guided by the magnetic needle.

While flying this species continually utters sharp twitterings and grinding and squealing notes of various lengths.

29. TACHYCINETA LEUCORRHOA (Vieill.).

(WHITE-RUMPED SWALLOW.)

+Hirundo leucorrhoa+, _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, pp. 606, 845 (Buenos
Ayres); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877,
p. 32 (Chupat), 1878, p. 392 (Central Patagonia); _White, P. Z.
S._ 1882, p. 596 (Corrientes); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._
viii. p. 89 (Concepcion). +Cotyle leucorrhoea+, _Burm. La-Plata
Reise_, ii. p. 478 (Paraná). +Tachycineta leucorrhous+, _Sharpe,
Cat. B._ x. p. 114.

_Description._--Above glossy dark green; rump white; quills black,
washed with green; upper tail-coverts dark green; tail-feathers
black with greenish gloss; base of forehead white, extending a
little backward over the lores; cheeks and whole under surface
white; flanks and sides washed with smoky brown; axillaries and
under tail-coverts pale smoky brown; bill and feet black: total
length 5·5 inches, wing 4·45, tail 2·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

This is the most abundant and best known of our Swallows; a pretty bird in its glossy coat of deep green, and rump and under surface snowy white; exceedingly restless in its disposition, quick and graceful in its motions; social, quarrelsome, garrulous, with a not unmusical song, beginning with long, soft, tremulous notes, followed by others shorter and more hurried, and sinking to a murmur. They are the last of all our migrants to leave us in autumn, and invariably reappear in small numbers about the houses on every warm day in winter. Probably many individuals in Buenos Ayres remain through the winter in sheltered situations, to scatter over the surrounding country whenever there comes a warm bright day. I once saw three together, skimming over the plains, on one of the coldest days I ever experienced on the pampas, the thermometer having stood at 29° Fahr. that morning.

Further south their migration is more strict; and on the Rio Negro, in Patagonia, from March to August I did not meet with a single individual. In Buenos Ayres the autumnal migration of the Hirundines begins about the middle of February, and from that date vast numbers of this Swallow are seen travelling north, and, in some seasons, they continue passing for over a month. One autumn, in April, several days after the Swallows had all disappeared, flocks of the Common Swallow began again to appear flying north, and for ten days afterwards they continued to pass in large numbers. They would stoop to dip themselves in a pool where I observed them, and then alight on the reeds and bushes to rest, and appeared quite tired with their journey, rising reluctantly when approached, and some allowing me to stand almost within arm's length of them without stirring. I had never before observed any later or supplementary migration like this; for, as a rule, the causes which in some years delay the departure of birds seems to affect them all alike. Possibly these late birds come from some remote district, where exceptionally cold weather had retarded breeding-operations.

The White-rumped Swallow sometimes lays in a tree, in the large nest, previously abandoned, of the Leñatero (_Anumbius acuticaudatus_). Its favourite site is, however, a hole in a wall, sheltered by the overhanging tiles or thatch; for though it does not go much into towns, as Azara has remarked, it is very domestic, and there is not a house on the pampas, however humble it be, but some of these birds are about it, sportively skimming above the roof, or curiously peering under the eaves, and incessantly uttering their gurgling happy notes.

For a period of a month to six weeks before building begins they seem to be holding an incessant dispute, reminding one in their scolding tones of a colony of contentious English House-Sparrows, only the Swallow has a softer, more varied voice, and frequently, even when hotly quarrelling, he pauses to warble out his pretty little song, with its sound like running water. However many eligible chinks and holes there may be, the contention is always just as great amongst them, and is doubtless referable to opposing claims to the best places. The excited twittering, the incessant striving of two birds to alight on the same square inch of wall, the perpetual chases they lead each other round and round the house, always ending exactly where they began, tell of clashing interests and of great unreasonableness on the part of some amongst them. By-and-by the quarrel assumes a more serious aspect; friends and neighbours have apparently intervened in vain; all the arguments of which Swallows are capable have been exhausted, and, a compromise of claims being more impossible than ever, fighting begins. Most vindictively do the little things clutch each other and fall to the earth twenty times an hour, where they often remain struggling for a long time, heedless of the screams of alarm their fellows set up above them; for often, while they thus lie on the ground punishing each other, they fall an easy prey to some wily pussy who has made herself acquainted with their habits.

When these feuds are finally settled, they address themselves diligently to the great work and build a rather big nest. They are not neat or skilful workers, but merely stuff a great quantity of straw and other light materials into the breeding-hole, and line the nest with feathers and horsehair. On this soft but disorderly bed the female lays from five to seven pure white eggs.

All those species that are liable at any time to become the victims of raptorial birds are very much beholden to this Swallow, as he is the most vigilant sentinel they possess. When the hurrying Falcon is still far off, and the other birds unsuspicious of his approach, the Swallows suddenly rush up into the sky with a wild rapid flight to announce the evil tidings with distracted screams. The alarm spreads swift as light through the feathered tribes, which, on all sides, are in terrified commotion, crouching in the grass, plunging into thickets, or mounting upwards to escape by flight. I have often wondered at this, since this swift-winged and quick-doubling little bird is the least likely to fall a prey himself.

They possess another habit very grateful to the mind of every early riser. At the first indication of dawn, and before any other wild bird has broken the profound silence of night, multitudes of this Swallow, as if at the signal of a leader, begin their singing and twittering, at the same time mounting upwards into the quiet dusky sky. Their notes at this hour differ from the hurried twittering uttered during the day, being softer and more prolonged, and, sounding far up in the sky from so many throats, the concert has a very charming effect, and seems in harmony with the shadowy morning twilight.

30. ATTICORA CYANOLEUCA (Vieill.).

(BANK-SWALLOW.)

+Atticora cyanoleuca+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 479; _Scl. et
Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14; _Hudson, P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 844 (Buenos
Ayres); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1876, p. 158 (Buenos Ayres), 1877,
p. 32 (Chupat), p. 170 (Buenos Ayres), 1878, p. 392 (Central
Patagonia); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 596 (Catamarca); _Barrows,
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 90 (Concepcion, Bahia Blanca);
_Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 186.

_Description._--Above dark glossy blue; quills and tail-feathers
black; cheeks and under surface of body pure white, the sides of the
neck blue, descending in a half-crescent on the sides of the chest;
sides of body and flanks brown; under tail-coverts black; bill and
feet black: total length 4·7 inches, wing 4·05, tail 2·2. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

This diminutive dark-plumaged species is the smallest of our Hirundines. In Buenos Ayres they appear early in September, arriving before the Martins, but preceded by the Common Swallow. They are bank-birds, breeding in forsaken holes and burrows, for they never bore into the earth themselves, and are consequently not much seen about the habitations of man. They sometimes find their breeding-holes in the banks of streams, or, in cultivated districts, in the sides of ditches, and even down in wells. But if in such sites alone fit receptacles for their eggs were met with, the species, instead of one of the commonest, would be rare indeed with us; for on the level pampas most of the water-courses have marshy borders, or at most but low and gently sloping banks. But the burrowing habits of two other animals--the Vizcacha (_Lagostomus trichodactylus_), the common large rodent of the pampas, and the curious little bird called Minera (_Geositta cunicularia_)--have everywhere afforded the Swallows abundance of breeding-places on the plains, even where there are no streams or other irregularities in the smooth surface of the earth.

The Minera bores its hole in the sides of the Vizcacha's great burrow, and in this burrow within a burrow the Swallow lays its eggs and rears its young, and is the guest of the Vizcacha, and as much dependent on it as the House-Wren and the Domestic Swallow on man; so that in spring, when this species returns to the plains, it is in the villages of the Vizcachas that we see them. There they live and spend the day, sporting about the burrows, just as the Common Swallow does about our houses; and to a stranger on the pampas one of these villages, with its incongruous bird and mammalian inhabitants, must seem a very curious sight in the evening. Before sunset the old male Vizcachas come forth to sit gravely at the mouths of their great burrows. One or two couples of Mineras, their little brown bird-tenants, are always seen running about on the bare ground round the holes, resting at intervals with their tails slowly moving up and down, and occasionally trilling-out their shrill laughter-like cry. Often a pair of Burrowing-Owls also live in the village, occupying one of the lesser disused burrows; and round them all flit half a dozen little Swallows, like twilight-moths with long black wings. It is never quite a happy family, however, for the Owls always hiss and snap at a Vizcacha if he comes too near; while the little Swallows never become reconciled to the Owls, but perpetually flutter about them, protesting against their presence with long complaining notes.

The nest, made of dry grass lined with feathers, is placed at the extremity of the long, straight, cylindrical burrow, and contains five or six white pointed eggs. I have never seen these Swallows fighting with the Minera to obtain possession of the burrows, for this industrious little bird makes itself a fresh one every spring, so that there are always houses enough for the Swallows. After the young have flown, they sit huddled together on a weed or thistle-top, and the parents continue to feed them for many days.

As in size and brightness of plumage, so in language is the Bank-Swallow inferior to other species, its only song being a single, weak, trilling note, much prolonged, which the bird repeats with great frequency when on the wing. Its voice has ever a mournful, monotonous sound, and even when it is greatly excited and alarmed, as at the approach of a fox or hawk, its notes are neither loud nor shrill. When flying they glide along close to the earth, and frequently alight on the ground to rest, which is contrary to the custom of other Swallows. Like other species of this family, they possess the habit of gliding to and fro before a traveller's horse, to catch the small twilight-moths driven up from the grass. A person riding on the pampas usually has a number of Swallows flying round him, and I have often thought that more than a hundred were before my horse at one time; but, from the rapidity of their motions, it is impossible to count them. I have frequently noticed individuals of the four most common species following me together; but after sunset, and when the other species have long forsaken the open grassy plain for the shelter of trees and houses, the diminutive Bank-Swallow continues to keep the traveller company. At such a time, as they glide about in the dusk of evening, conversing together in low tremulous tones, they have a peculiarly sorrowful appearance, seeming like homeless little wanderers over the great level plains.

When the season of migration approaches they begin to congregate in parties not very large, though sometimes as many as one or two hundred individuals are seen together; these companies spend much of their time perched close together on weeds, low trees, fences, or other slightly elevated situations, and pay little heed to a person approaching, but seem preoccupied or preyed upon by some trouble that has no visible cause.

The time immediately preceding the departure of the Swallows is indeed a season of very deep interest to the observer of nature. The birds in many cases seem to forget the attachment of the sexes and their songs and aerial recreations; they already begin to feel the premonitions of that marvellous instinct that urges them hence: not yet an irresistible impulse, it is a vague sense of disquiet; but its influence is manifest in their language and gestures, their wild manner of flight, and their listless intervals.

The little Bank-Swallow disappears immediately after the Martins. Many stragglers continue to be seen after the departure of the main body; but before the middle of March not one remains, the migration of this species being very regular.

31. ATTICORA FUCATA (Temm.).

(BROWN MARTIN.)

+Cotyle fucata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 478 (Mendoza);
_Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 14; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 596
(Corrientes), 1883, p. 37 (Cordova). +Atticora fucata+, _Sharpe,
Cat. B._ x. p. 188.

_Description._--Above brown; primary-coverts and quills blackish
brown; tail-feathers dark brown; crown of head deep rufous, becoming
clearer on the nape; cheeks, throat, and breast pale tawny; sides of
body brown, tinged with rufous; centre of breast, abdomen, and under
tail-coverts white; thighs, under wing-coverts, and axillaries
brown: total length 4·6 inches, wing 4·15, tail 2·0. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ Guiana, Brazil, and Northern Argentina.

This Swallow is common near Mendoza, according to Prof. Burmeister. White obtained it in May 1881 at Santo Tomé, Corrientes, and in 1882 at Cosquin near Cordova. At Cosquin the first individual was seen on July 20th, but towards the end of August large numbers were observed, mostly skimming over the river.

32. STELGIDOPTERYX RUFICOLLIS (Vieill.).

(RED-NECKED SWALLOW.)

+Stelgidopteryx ruficollis+, _Sharpe, Cat. B._ x. p. 208. +Cotile
ruficollis+, _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 90.

_Description._--Above brown, head darker, rump paler; wings and tail
blackish brown, coverts edged with pale brown, external secondaries
margined with whitish; beneath pale ashy brown; throat rufous;
middle of belly pale yellowish; crissum white, tipped with black:
total length 5·0 inches, wing 4·3, tail 2·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South America.

Mr. Barrows tells us that this species is abundant in Entrerios throughout the summer, arriving from the north early in August, and is said to nest in holes in banks.

Fam. IX. TANAGRIDÆ, or TANAGERS.

The brilliant family of Tanagers, one of the most characteristic groups of the American avifauna, contains altogether nearly 400 species, of which the greater number are restricted to the forest-clad districts of Central and South America between the tropics. South of the Tropic of Cancer the number of species met with falls off very considerably, so that in the Argentine Republic only fourteen members of the family have as yet been recognized. This number will, however, be probably increased when the less-known wooded districts of northern and eastern Argentina have been more fully explored.

The fourteen species of Argentine Tanagers belong to ten different genera, mostly of wide distribution. But to this rule one genus (_Stephanophorus_) is an exception, being only found in Southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Northern La Plata.

33. EUPHONIA NIGRICOLLIS (Vieill.).

(BLACK-NECKED TANAGER.)

+Euphonia nigricollis+, _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 61. +Lindo azul y oro
cabeza celeste+, _Azara, Apunt._ i. p. 390. +Euphonia aureata+,
_d'Orb. Voy., Ois._ p. 267 (Corrientes).

_Description._--Above glossy purplish black; rump yellow; cap and
nape blue; front black; below orange-yellow, throat and sides of
the head black; axillaries pale yellow; under wing-coverts whitish,
inner margins of wing-feathers pale cinereous; bill black; feet pale
brown: whole length 4·5 inches, wing 2·7, tail 1·5. _Female_ above
olive-green, rather lighter on the rump; cap blue; front chestnut,
with a narrow dark margin between it and the blue cap; below
yellowish olive-green, brighter on the belly.

_Hab._ South America from Colombia to Northern Argentina.

This Tanager was obtained by d'Orbigny in Southern Corrientes.

34. EUPHONIA CHLOROTICA (Linn.).

(PURPLE-AND-YELLOW TANAGER.)

+Euphonia chlorotica+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 17; _White, P. Z.
S._ 1882, p. 596 (Misiones, Catamarca); _Scl. Cat. B._ xi. p. 64.