Chapter XX: Nothura Darwini 213 (2)

The species commonly called _Carpintero_ in the Argentine country, and ranging south to Patagonia, is one of a group of the Picidæ of South America which diverge considerably in habits from the typical Woodpeckers. On trees they usually perch horizontally and crosswise, like ordinary birds, and only occasionally cling vertically to trunks of trees, using the tail as a support. They also seek their food more on the ground than on trees, in some cases not at all on trees, and they also breed oftener in holes in banks or cliffs than in the trunks of trees. As Darwin remarks in 'The Origin of Species,' in his chapter on Instinct, these birds have, to some slight extent, been modified structurally in accordance with their less arboreal habits, the beak being weaker, the rectrices less stiff, and the legs longer than in other Woodpeckers. In South Brazil and Bolivia the _Colaptes campestris_ represents this group, in Chili _C. pitius_, and in the Argentine country _C. agricola_.

Azara's description, under the heading _El Campestre_, probably refers to the Brazilian species, but agrees so well in every particular with the pampas Woodpecker that I cannot do better than to quote it in full.

"Though this name (_Campestre_) seems inappropriate for any Woodpecker, no other better describes the present species, since it never enters forests, nor climbs on trunks to seek for insects under the bark, but finds its aliment on the open plain, running with ease on the ground, for its legs are longer than in the others. There it forcibly strikes its beak into the matted turf, where worms or insects lie concealed, and when the ant-hills are moist it breaks into them to feed on the ants or their larvæ. It also perches on trees, large or small, on the trunks or branches, whether horizontal or upright, sometimes in a clinging position and sometimes crosswise in the manner common to birds. Its voice is powerful, and its cry uttered frequently both when flying and perching. It goes with its mate or family, and is the most common species in all these countries. It lays two to four eggs, with white and highly polished shells, and breeds in holes which it excavates in old walls of mud or of unbaked brick, also in the banks of streams; and the eggs are laid on the bare floor without any lining."

In Patagonia, where I have found this bird breeding in the cliffs of the Rio Negro, its habits are precisely as Azara says; but on the pampas of Buenos Ayres, where the conditions are different, there being no cliffs or old mud-walls suitable for breeding-places, the bird resorts to the big solitary ombú tree (_Pircunia dioica_), which has a very soft wood, and excavates a hole 7 to 9 inches deep, inclining upwards near the end, and terminating in a round chamber.

This reversion to an ancestral habit, which (considering the modified structure of the bird) must have been lost at a very remote period in its history, is exceedingly curious. Formerly this Woodpecker was quite common on the pampas. I remember that when I was a small boy quite a colony lived in the ombú trees growing about my home; now it is nearly extinct, and one may spend years on the plains without meeting with a single example.

Mr. Barrows speaks as follows of this species:--"Abundant and breeding at all points visited. At Concepcion, where it is resident, it is by far the commonest Woodpecker. The ordinary note very much resembles the reiterated alarm-note of the Greater Yellow-legs (_Totanus melanoleucus_), but so loud as to be almost painful when close at hand, and easily heard a mile or more away. They spend much time on the ground, and I often found the bills of those shot quite muddy. They are very tough and hard to kill, and a wounded one shows about as many sharp points as a Hawk. A nest found near Concepcion, November 6, 1880, was in the hollow trunk of a tree, the entrance being through an enlarged crack at a height of some three feet from the ground. The five white eggs were laid on the rubbish at the bottom of the cavity, perhaps a foot above the ground. In the treeless region about the Sierra de la Ventana we saw this bird about holes on the banks of the streams, where it doubtless had nests."

Order IV. COCCYGES.

Fam. XXIV. ALCEDINIDÆ, or KINGFISHERS.

The Kingfishers, which form the subject of an excellent illustrated Monograph by Mr. Sharpe[1], are but feebly represented in the New World. Out of the many varied generic forms which make up the family, only a single genus, with about eight species, is met with in the whole of the American Continent. This genus (_Ceryle_) is of wide diffusion, having also representatives in Africa and Asia. There is thus a great contrast with the Old World, where at least 120 species of Kingfishers are met with.

[1] A Monograph of the Alcedinidæ, or Family of Kingfishers. By R. B.
Sharpe. London, 1868-71.

261. CERYLE TORQUATA (Linn.).

(RINGED KINGFISHER.)

+Ceryle torquata+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 103; _Barrows, Auk_
1884, p. 26 (Entrerios); _Sharpe, Mon. Alc._ pl. xxii. p. 73;
_Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora). +Megaceryle
torquata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 446 (Paraná).

_Description._--Above bluish grey, with narrow black shaft-stripes
and some small round spots of white; wings black, with a large
portion of the inner webs towards the base white, coverts like the
back; tail black, crossed by white bars, central rectrices edged
with bluish grey: beneath chestnut-red; throat, centre of belly,
and crissum white: whole length 15·0 inches, wings 7·7, tail 5·5.
_Female_ similar, but with a broad bluish-grey pectoral band.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

This beautiful bird, the largest of the American Kingfishers, is found throughout the greater portion of South and Central America. In the Argentine Republic it is somewhat rare, though widely distributed, and ranging as far south as Buenos Ayres. Dr. Döring mentions _Ceryle torquata_ amongst the species collected by him on the Rio Negro, in Patagonia; but it is possible that the closely allied _C. stellata_ is meant, as this form represents the larger and more brightly-coloured bird in the Magellanic district.

Notwithstanding its wide distribution and great beauty, little has been recorded of the habits of this species. In Amazonia, Bartlett says:--"It breeds in company with _Ceryle amazona_. The nest, however, is placed very much deeper in the bank than in the case of the last-named bird, the hole being from 4 to 6 feet in depth, with a chamber at the end sufficiently large for the young birds when nearly full-grown."

262. CERYLE AMAZONA (Lath.).

(AMAZONIAN KINGFISHER.)

+Ceryle amazona+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 103; _White, P. Z. S._
1883, p. 40 (Cordova); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 26 (Entrerios);
_Sharpe, Mon. Alc._ pl. xxiv. p. 83. +Chloroceryle amazona+,
_Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 446 (Paraná).

_Description._--Above dark green, with a white neck-band: beneath
white, with a broad chestnut pectoral band; flanks striped with
green; under surface of wings white; tail beneath slaty, with white
bars on the inner webs: whole length 11·0 inches, wing 5·3, tail
3·4. _Female_ without the red pectoral band, which is incompletely
replaced by dark green.

_Hab._ South America.

This Kingfisher was found by White at Cosquin, where it is usually met with along the _acequias_, or canals made for the purpose of irrigating the cultivated lands. These canals are in places bordered with brushwood and trees, and are tolerably deep, with a swiftly flowing current, and abound in small fishes, so that this bird seems to prefer them as hunting-grounds to the rocky river-bed.

In Entrerios Mr. Barrows tells us this Kingfisher is not uncommon along the Lower Uruguay, and sometimes ascends the smaller streams a short distance. It is much more easily approached than _C. torquata_.

_C. amazona_ is also found as far south as Buenos Ayres, where I have always seen them singly or in pairs. Its usual cry is exceedingly loud, hard, and abrupt, and so rapidly reiterated as to give it a sound resembling that of a policeman's rattle. But this is not its only language, and I was greatly surprised one day at hearing one _warbling_ long clear notes, somewhat flute-like in quality, as it flew from tree to tree along the borders of a stream. It seems very strange that there should be a melodious Kingfisher; but Mr. Barrows also heard the allied _Ceryle americana_ sing, much to his surprise. My belief is, that the birds of this group possess a singing faculty, but very rarely exercise it; with _C. americana_ I am well acquainted, yet I never heard it utter any note except its hard, rattling cry, resembling that of _C. amazona_, but less powerful.

263. CERYLE AMERICANA (Gm.).

(LITTLE KINGFISHER.)

+Ceryle americana+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 103; _Durnford,
Ibis_, 1877, p. 185 (Buenos Ayres); _Salvin, Ibis_, 1880, p. 361
(Salta); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 26 (Entrerios); _Sharpe, Mon.
Alc._ pl. xxvi. p. 89. +Chloroceryle americana+, _Burm. La-Plata
Reise_, ii. p. 447 (Paraná).

_Description._--Above bronzy green; line along sides of head and
neck-collar white; wings spotted with white; tail above green,
beneath blackish, barred with white on the inner webs; throat
white; breast chestnut-red; belly and crissum white, flanks with
bronzy-green spots; bill and feet black: whole length 7·0 inches,
wing 3·1, tail 2·5. _Female_ similar, but no chestnut on the breast,
which is crossed by a bronzy-green band.

_Hab._ South America.

This is the smallest of our three Kingfishers, and nearly resembles _C. amazona_ in plumage. Durnford found it "not uncommon" about the creeks and streams at the mouth of the Paraná, and also obtained specimens in the north of the Republic near Salta, during his last journey. Prof. Burmeister met with it at Paraná and Tucuman.

Mr. Barrows gives us the following notes on this Kingfisher:--

"Resident through the year at Concepcion, but especially abundant in winter, when it haunts the main river, the island-shores, and all the streams, big and little. It is not in the least shy, and one once perched in some willows directly over my boat and not 10 feet away, while he swallowed a tiny fish he had just captured; after which he twitted such a hearty little song that I really felt as if his proper place must be among the _Oscines_, in spite of all anatomical defects. On the Pampas, we found this a rather common bird on the small streams, and its presence on some streams whose waters are entirely absorbed by the desert before they can reach either sea or lake, first called my attention to the presence, even in these streams, of numbers of a small fish which is found in many of the pools as well all over the Pampas. Although both this and the preceding species must nest about Concepcion, I did not succeed of learning anything of the nest or eggs."

Fam. XXV. TROGONIDÆ, or TROGONS.

The Trogons, a family peculiar among all zygodactyle birds for having the inner toe instead of the outer toe reversed in position, are found in the Old World as well as in the New. But they are much more abundant in the Tropics of America, where they number some thirty species, and attain an astonishing development of ornamental plumage in the celebrated Quézal (_Pharomacrus_) of Guatemala. In Argentina two stray species only have, as yet, been recorded as met with in the northern provinces.

The Trogons are purely arboreal in habits, and frequent the larger trees of the denser forests, feeding mainly on insects.

264. TROGON VARIEGATUS, Spix.

(PURPLE-BREASTED TROGON.)

+Trogon variegatus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 104; _White, P. Z.
S._ 1882, p. 618 (Salta); _Gould, Mon. Trog._ ed. 2, pl. xix.

_Description._--Above shining bronzy green; head purplish; wings
blackish; coverts grey, finely vermiculated with black; tail--two
middle feathers like the back, but tipped with black, next two pairs
black, edged with green; three outer pairs white with broad black
bars and white tips: beneath, breast dark purple, separated from the
rosy-red abdomen by a narrow white band: whole length 9·0 inches,
wing 5·0, tail 5·0. _Female_: above dark grey; wing-coverts and
secondaries with transverse bars of black and white; tail, blackish,
two middle feathers grey tipped with black, three outer pairs
broadly edged externally and tipped with white: beneath, breast dark
grey, separated from the rosy-red abdomen by a white band.

_Hab._ Brazil and N. Argentina.

White obtained examples of this Trogon at Campo Colorado, near Oran, where it frequents the topmost branches of the loftiest forest-trees, and is very difficult to discover. It is said to have a peculiar mournful cry.

265. TROGON SURUCURA, Vieill.

(AZARA'S TROGON.)

+Trogon surucura+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 104; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 619 (Misiones); _Gould, Mon. Trog._ ed. 2, pl. xxv.

_Description._--Above bronzy green, head purplish; wings black,
coverts and outer secondaries grey, finely vermiculated with black;
tail--two middle feathers like the back, but tipped with black;
others black, but three outer pairs with most of the outer webs and
broad tips white: beneath, breast purple, abdomen red: whole length
11·0 inches, wing 5·3, tail 5·7. _Female_: grey; belly rosy red;
wing-coverts and outer secondaries black, with white bars.

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

This is the only _Trogon_ included by Azara in his Birds of Paraguay. He calls it "Surucuá," and states that it is confined to the larger forests of that country.

White obtained a single example of this species in the forests of Misiones, near Concepcion, in June 1881.

Fam. XXVI. BUCCONIDÆ, or PUFF-BIRDS.

The Bucconidæ, or Puff-birds, are entirely restricted to the Neotropical Region, and are most numerous in the great forests of Amazonia and Colombia, where most of the 43 known species have been met with. These birds seem to pass their lives sitting upon the topmost or outermost branches of the larger trees, looking out for insects, which are captured flying and constitute their only food. Southwards of the great forest-districts of South America, Puff-birds become very scarce. One species only is as yet known to occur in Paraguay, and some uncertainty prevails as to the single member of this family stated to be found near Tucuman.

266. BUCCO MACULATUS (Gm.).

(SPOTTED PUFF-BIRD.)

+Bucco maculatus+, _Scl. Jamacars and Puff-birds_, p. 99, pl. xxxii.;
_Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 106. +Capito maculatus+, _Burm.
La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 446.

_Description._--Above blackish, spotted with brown; lores,
superciliaries, and neck-collar pale cinnamomeous white: beneath
white, fore neck clear reddish cinnamon; breast and belly covered
with round black spots; chin and middle of belly whitish; tail
black, with transverse bars of pale brown; under wing-coverts and
under surface of wings white; bill red, with the culmen and base
blackish; feet plumbeous: whole length 8·0 inches, wing 3·2, tail
2·8. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ S.E. Brazil.

Dr. Burmeister records the occurrence of this species of Puff-bird near Tucuman, and it must therefore be placed in our list on his authority. But it is possible that the species which he met with may have been the nearly allied _B. striatipectus_ of the Bolivian frontier of Brazil, which is more likely to extend into Northern Argentina than the true _B. maculatus_. _B. striatipectus_ (figured and described in Sclater's 'Monograph of the Jacamars and Puff-birds,' pl. xxxiii. p. 101) is very similar to _B. maculatus_, but has the spots on the belly elongated into long striations.

It is again possible that the _Bucco_ of Tucuman may be the Paraguayan _B. chacuru_ of Vieillot, founded upon the "_Chacuru_" of Azara, which is another species not remotely allied to _B. maculatus_.

Fam. XXVII. CUCULIDÆ, or CUCKOOS.

The Cuckoos form an extensive and rather varied family of zygodactyle birds with a somewhat wide distribution, being found in all parts of the world except in the extreme north, where their insect-food would not be abundantly met with. The true _Cuculi_, so remarkable for their parasitic habits, are not found in the New World, but several genera of arboreal Cuckoos (_Coccyzus_, _Piaya_, &c.), and others of terrestrial habits (_Crotophaga_, _Geococcyx_, and _Saurothera_), are met with, chiefly in the Neotropical Region, and number altogether some thirty species. Of these, eight are known to occur within the confines of the Argentine Republic.

267. CROTOPHAGA ANI, Linn.

(BLACK ANI.)

+Crotophaga ani+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 107; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 619 (Salta).

_Description._--Black, glossed with bronzy and purplish; bill and
feet black; bill with the culmen much elevated, compressed and
cultrate: whole length 13·0 inches, wing 5·5, tail 7·0. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ Veragua and South America down to Northern Argentina.

This strange Cuckoo, with the plumage and some of the habits of a Crow, is of a nearly uniform black, glossed with bronze, dark green, and purple. Its most peculiar feature is the beak, which is greater in depth than in length, and resembles an immense Roman nose, occupying the whole face, and with the bridge bulging up above the top of the head. The Ani is found only in the northern portion of the Argentine territory. According to Azara it is very common in Paraguay, and goes in flocks, associating with the Guira Cuckoo, which it resembles in its manner of flight, in being gregarious, in feeding on the ground, and in coming a great deal about houses; in all which things these two species differ widely from most Cuckoos. He also says that it has a loud disagreeable voice, follows the cattle about in the pastures like the Cow-bird, and builds a large nest of sticks lined with leaves, in which as many as twenty or thirty eggs are frequently deposited, several females laying together in one nest. His account of these strange and disorderly breeding-habits has been confirmed by independent observers in other parts of the continent. The eggs are oval and outwardly white, being covered with a soft white cretaceous deposit; but this can be easily scraped off, and under it is found a smooth hard shell of a clear beautiful blue colour.

268. GUIRA PIRIRIGUA (Vieill.).

(GUIRA CUCKOO.)

+Guira piririgua+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 107; _Durnford, Ibis_,
1877, p. 185 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 8 (Buenos
Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 619 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows,
Auk_, 1884, p. 26 (Entrerios); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468
(Lomas de Zamora). +Ptiloleptis guira+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_,
ii. p. 443.

_Description._--Above dark brown, with white shaft-stripes; head
brown; wings reddish brown, passing into blackish brown on the outer
secondaries; rump white; tail white, at the base ochraceous, crossed
by a very broad black band, except the two central feathers, which
are uniform brown: beneath sordid white, throat and upper breast
with long linear black shaft-stripes; bill and feet yellow: whole
length 15·0 inches, wing 7·0, tail 8·0. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

"_Piririgua_," the specific term adopted by naturalists for this bird, is, according to Azara, the vernacular name of the species in Paraguay. He says that in that country it is abundant, but scarce in the Plata district. No doubt it has greatly increased and extended its range southwards during the hundred years which have elapsed since his time, as it is now very common in Buenos Ayres, where its vernacular name is _Urraca_ (Magpie). In the last-named country it is not yet quite in harmony with its environment. Everywhere its habit is to feed exclusively on the ground, in spite of possessing feet formed for climbing; but its very scanty plumage, slow laborious flight, and long square tail, so unsuitable in cold boisterous weather, show that the species is a still unmodified intruder from the region of perpetual summer many degrees nearer to the equator.

The Guira Cuckoo is about sixteen inches long, has red eyes and blue feet, and an orange-red beak. The crown of the head is deep rufous, and the loose hair-like feathers are lengthened into a pointed crest. The back and rump are white, the wings and other upper parts very dark fuscous, marked with white and pale brown. Under surface dull white, with hair-like black marks on the throat and breast. The tail is square, 9 to 10 inches long; the two middle feathers dark brown, the others three-coloured--yellow at the base, the middle portion dark glossy green, the ends white; and when the bird is flying the tail, spread out like a fan, forms a conspicuous and beautiful object.

During the inclement winter of Buenos Ayres the Guira Cuckoo is a miserable bird, and appears to suffer more than any other creature from cold. In the evening the flock, usually composed of from a dozen to twenty individuals, gathers on the thick horizontal branch of a tree sheltered from the wind, the birds crowding close together for warmth, and some of them roosting perched on the backs of their fellows. I have frequently seen them roosting three deep, one or two birds at the top to crown the pyramid; but with all their huddling together a severe frost is sure to prove fatal to one or more birds in the flock; and sometimes several birds that have dropped from the branch stiff with cold are found under the trees in the morning. If the morning is fair the flock betakes itself to some large tree, on which the sun shines, to settle on the outermost twigs on the northern side, each bird with its wings drooping, and its back turned towards the sun. In this spiritless attitude they spend an hour or two warming their blood and drying the dew from their scanty dress. During the day they bask much in the sun, and towards evening may be again seen on the sunny side of a hedge or tree warming their backs in the last rays. It is owing, no doubt, to fecundity, and to an abundance of food that the Guira Cuckoo is able to maintain its existence so far south in spite of its terrible enemy the cold.

With the return of warm weather this species becomes active, noisy, and the gayest of birds; the flock constantly wanders about from place to place, the birds flying in a scattered desultory manner one behind the other, and incessantly uttering while on the wing a long complaining cry. At intervals during the day they also utter a kind of song, composed of a series of long modulated whistling notes, two-syllabled, the first powerful and vehement, and becoming at each repetition lower and shorter, then ending in a succession of hoarse internal sounds like the stertorous breathing of a sleeping man. When approached all the birds break out into a chorus of alarm, with notes so annoyingly loud and sustained, that the intruder, be it man or beast, is generally glad to hurry out of ear-shot. As the breeding-season approaches they are heard, probably the males, to utter a variety of soft low chattering notes, sounding sometimes like a person laughing and crying together: the flock then breaks up into pairs, the birds becoming silent and very circumspect in their movements. The nest is usually built in a thorn-tree, of rather large sticks, a rough large structure, the inside often lined with green leaves plucked from the trees. The eggs are large for the bird, and usually six or seven in number; but the number varies greatly, and I have known one bird lay as many as fourteen. They are elliptical in form and beautiful beyond comparison, being of an exquisite turquoise-blue, the whole shell roughly spattered with white. The white spots are composed of a soft calcareous substance, apparently deposited on the surface of the shell after its complete formation: they are raised, and look like snow-flakes, and when the egg is fresh laid may be easily washed off with cold water, and are so extremely delicate that their purity is lost on the egg being taken into the hand. The young birds hatched from these lovely eggs are proverbial for their ugliness, _Pichon de Urraca_ being a term of contempt commonly applied to a person remarkable for want of comeliness. They are as unclean as they are ugly, so that the nest, usually containing six or seven young, is pleasant neither to sight nor smell. There is something ludicrous in the notes of these young birds, resembling, as they do, the shrill half-hysterical laughter of a female exhausted by over-indulgence in mirth. One summer there was a large brood in a tree close to my home, and every time we heard the parent bird hastening to her nest with food in her beak, and uttering her plaintive cries, we used to run to the door to hear them. As soon as the old bird reached the nest they would burst forth into such wild extravagant peals and continue them so long, that we could not but think it a rare amusement to listen to them.

According to Azara the Guira Cuckoo in Paraguay has very friendly relations with the Ani (_Crotophaga ani_), the birds consorting together in one flock, and even laying their eggs in one nest; and he affirms that he has seen nests containing eggs of both species. These nests were probably brought to him by his Indian collectors, who were in the habit of deceiving him, and it is more than probable that in this matter they were practising on his credulity; though it is certain that birds of different species do sometimes lay in one nest, as I have found--the Common Teal and the Tinamou for instance. I also doubt very much that the bird is ever polygamous, as Azara suspected; but it frequently wastes eggs, and its procreant habits are sometimes very irregular and confusing, as the following case will show:--

A flock numbering about sixteen individuals passed the winter in the trees about my home, and in spring scattered about the plantation, screaming and chattering in their usual manner when about to breed. I watched them, and found that after a time the flock broke up into small parties of three or four, and not into couples, and I could not detect them building. At length I discovered three broken eggs on the ground, and on examining the tree overhead found an incipient nest composed of about a dozen sticks laid crossways and out of which the eggs had been dropped. This was in October, and for a long time no other attempt at a nest was made; but wasted eggs were dropped in abundance on the ground, and I continued finding them for about four months. Early in January another incipient nest was found, and on the ground beneath it six broken eggs. At the end of that month two large nests were made, each nest by one pair of birds, and in the two fourteen or fifteen young birds were reared.

When taken young the Guira Cuckoos become very tame, and make bold, noisy, mischievous pets, fond of climbing over and tugging at the clothes, buttons, and hair of their master or mistress. They appear to be more intelligent than most birds, and in a domestic state resemble the Magpie. I knew one tame that would carry off and jealously conceal bits of bright-coloured ribbon, thread, or cloth. In a wild state their food consists largely of insects, which they sometimes pursue running and flying along the ground. They also prey on mice and small reptiles, and carry off the fledglings from the nests of Sparrows and other small birds, and in spring they are frequently seen following the plough to pick up worms.

269. DIPLOPTERUS NÆVIUS (Gm.).

(BROWN CUCKOO.)

+Diplopterus nævius+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 107. +Diplopterus
galeritus+, _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 27 (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above ashy brown, with large black shaft-spots; head
rufous, striated with black; wings blackish, edged with brown; tail
similar, but with slight white tips to the feathers, and the upper
tail-coverts much elongated: beneath dirty white: whole length 11·5
inches, wing 4·5, tail 5·5. _Female_ similar.

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

The Brown Cuckoo, called "Crispin," is found throughout the hot portion of South America, and in different districts varies considerably in size and colouring. It is about 12 inches long, the beak much curved; the prevailing colour of the upper parts is light brown, the loose feathers on the head, which form a crest, deep rufous. The upper tail-coverts are long loose feathers of very unequal length, the longest reaching nearly to the end of the tail. The under surface is dirty white, or dashed with grey.

Azara says it is called _Chochi_ in Paraguay, and has a clear sorrowful note of two syllables, which it repeats at short intervals during the day, and also at night during the love-season. It is solitary, scarce, and excessively shy, escaping on the opposite side of the tree when approached, and when seen having the head and crest raised in an attitude of alarm. In the northern part of the Argentine country it is called _Crispin_, from its note which clearly pronounces that name. Mr. Barrows found it common at Concepcion on the Uruguay river, and has written the following notes about it:--

"Several were taken in open bushy places, and many others were heard. It is a plain but attractive Cuckoo with a few-feathered crest, and long soft flowing upper tail-coverts. The note is very clear and penetrating, sounding much like the word 'crispin' slowly uttered, and with the accent on the last syllable. The birds are very shy, and I followed one for nearly an hour before I saw it at all, and nearly twice that time before any chance of a shot was offered. There is some peculiarity in the note which makes it impossible to tell whether the bird is in front of or behind you--even when the note itself is distinctly heard. I know nothing of nest or eggs."

From personal observation I can say nothing about this species, as I never visited the district where it is found; but with the fame of the Crispin I have always been familiar, for concerning this Cuckoo the Argentine peasants have a very pretty legend. It is told that two children of a woodcutter, who lived in a lonely spot on the Uruguay, lost themselves in the woods--a little boy named Crispin and his sister. They subsisted on wild fruit, wandering from place to place, and slept at night on a bed of dry grass and leaves. One morning the little girl awoke to discover that her brother had disappeared from her side. She sprung up and ran through the woods to seek for him, but never found him; but day after day continued wandering in the thickets calling "_Crispin, Crispin_," until at length she was changed into a little bird, which still flies through the woods on its never-ending quest, following every stranger that enters them, calling after him "_Crispin, Crispin_," if by chance it should be her lost brother.

270. PIAYA CAYANA (Linn.).

(CHESTNUT CUCKOO.)

+Piaya cayana+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Salvin, Ibis_,
1880, p. 361 (Tucuman); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 619
(Misiones).

_Description._--Above deep chestnut-red: beneath pale grey, passing
into blackish on the crissum; throat and neck pale chestnut-brown;
tail-feathers beneath brown, more or less blackish, and, except the
middle pair which are like the back, broadly tipped with white:
whole length 16·0 inches, wing 5·5, tail 10·5. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Central and South America.

This is a widely-spread form of Cuckoo in Central and South America, and reaches the northern territories of the Argentine Republic, having been obtained by Durnford near Tucuman, and by White in Misiones. The whole bird is about 18 inches long, and the tail very long in proportion, about 11 inches. The entire plumage, except the breast and belly, which are grey, is chestnut colour. The beak is very strong, and yellowish green in colour; the irides, ruby-red, the eyelids scarlet.

In Colombia this Cuckoo is said to be called _Pajaro ardilla_ (Squirrel-bird), from its chestnut tint. It seems to feed chiefly, if not altogether, on the ground, and when perched always appears awkward and ill-at-ease. On a branch it sits motionless, until approached, and then creeps away through the leaves and escapes on the opposite side of the tree. This, however, is a habit common to most Cuckoos. Its language is a loud screaming cry, on account of which the Brazilians call it _Alma do gato_, implying that it possesses the soul of a cat. It is a very shy retiring bird, and in this respect is more like a _Coccyzus_ than a _Guira_.

For these facts we are indebted to Léotaud, Fraser, Forbes, White, and others; each of these observers having contributed a few words to a history of this interesting bird's habits.

271. COCCYZUS AMERICANUS (Linn.).

(YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.)

+Coccyzus americanus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Sclater, P.
Z. S._ 1872, p. 490 (Buenos Ayres); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p.
468 (Lomas de Zamora).

_Description._--Above grey; ear-coverts blackish; wings in interior
rufous, which shows more or less externally: beneath white, greyish
on the throat; tail-feathers, except the two central which are like
the back, black broadly tipped with white; bill with the lower
mandible orange-yellow, except at the tip: whole length 12·0 inches,
wing 5·7, tail 5·7. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ North and Central America and Colombia; occasional in Brazil and Argentina.

This is a well-known inhabitant of the United States, where it is a regular summer visitant, passing the winter months in Central America and the West Indies, and being also occasionally met with during this season in Brazil. In the Argentine Republic it is very rare, and the few specimens found were all seen late in the autumn, after other summer visitors had left. I can only account for the lateness of these birds on the supposition that, being low fliers, excessively shy, and eminently forest birds, they shrunk from traversing the wide open plains which offer no kind of shelter or protection, and so remained in the isolated plantations which rise like little islands of greenery in the sea-like level of the pampas.

272. COCCYZUS MELANOCORYPHUS, Vieill.

(BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO.)

+Coccyzus melanocoryphus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108;
_Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 186 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_,
1884, p. 28 (Entrerios); _Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas
de Zamora). +Coccyzus seniculus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p.
444 (Paraná, Tucuman).

_Description._--Above pale greyish brown; head cinereous; a black
stripe through the eyes: beneath white, more or less tinged with
ochraceous; tail black, tipped with white; two central rectrices
like the back; bill black: whole length 11·5 inches, wing 4·7, tail
5·7. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ South America.

The "Coucou," so called from its note, is the commonest species of the genus in the Argentine Republic, and has an extensive range in South America. In September it migrates south, and a pair or a few individuals reappear faithfully every spring in every orchard or plantation on the pampas. At intervals its voice is heard amidst the green trees--deep, hoarse, and somewhat human-like in sound, the song or call being composed of a series of notes, like the syllables _cou-cou-cou_, beginning loud and full and becoming more rapid until at the end they run together. It is a shy bird, conceals itself from prying eyes in the thickest foliage, moves with ease and grace amongst the closest twigs, and feeds principally on large winged insects, for which it searches amongst the weeds and bushes near the ground.

The nest is the flimsiest structure imaginable, being composed of a few dry twigs, evidently broken by the bird from the trees and not picked up from the ground. They are laid across each other to make a platform nest, but so small and flat is it that the eggs frequently fall out from it. That a bird should make no better preparation than this for the great business of propagation seems very wonderful. The eggs are three or four in number, elliptical in form, and of a dull sea-green colour.

273. COCCYZUS CINEREUS, Vieill.

(CINEREOUS CUCKOO.)

[Plate XIII.]

+Coccyzus cinereus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Hudson, P. Z.
S._ 1870, p. 88 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 620
(Buenos Ayres); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 28 (Entrerios);
_Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora).

_Description._--Above cinereous, wings blackish; tail above
blackish, beneath cinereous; lateral rectrices tipped with white:
beneath, throat and breast pale cinereous, passing into white in
the middle of the belly; under wing-coverts, flanks, and crissum
ochraceous; bill black: whole length 9·0 inches, wing 4·5, tail 4·5.
_Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentine Republic.

The Cinereous Cuckoo is smaller than the preceding species, and also differs in having a square tail and a more curved beak. The beak is black, and the irides blood-red, which contrasts well with the blue-grey of the head, giving the bird a bold and striking appearance.

This species is not common, but it is, I believe, slowly extending its range southwards, as within the last few years it has become much more common than formerly. Like other Cuckoos, it is retiring in its habits, concealing itself in the dense foliage, and it cannot be attracted by an imitation of its call, an expedient which never fails with the Coucou. Its language has not that deep mysterious, or _monkish_ quality, as it has been aptly called, of other _Coccyzi_. Its usual song or call, which it repeats at short intervals all day long during the love-season, resembles the song of our little dove (_Columbula picui_), and is composed of several long monotonous notes, loud, rather musical, but not at all plaintive. It also has a loud harsh cry, which one finds it hard to believe to be the voice of a Cuckoo, as in character it is more like the scream of a Dendrocolaptine species.

The figure (Plate XIII.) is taken from a specimen of this species obtained by Mr. Frank Withington in the Lomas de Zamora, and now in Sclater's collection.

274. COCCYZUS PUMILUS, Strickl.

(DWARF CUCKOO.)

+Coccyzus pumilus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _Barrows, Auk_,
1884, p. 28, (Entrerios).

_Description._--Above brownish cinereous, head grey; tail like the
back, but tail-end black with narrow white tips: beneath, throat and
breast chestnut-red; abdomen white; under wing-coverts and crissum
ochraceous: whole length 9·0 inches, wing 4·0, tail 4·2. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ South America.

Of this little Cuckoo, the smallest of the genus _Coccyzus_, specimens were obtained by Mr. Barrows at Concepcion in Entrerios, in the month of December. The species was only previously known to occur in Venezuela and Colombia.

Fam. XXVIII. RHAMPHASTIDÆ, or TOUCANS.

In the second edition of his 'Monograph of the Toucans,' Gould admits 51 species of this fine and peculiar group, which are scattered over the forests of Tropical America, from Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina. Several others have been since described.

The Toucans are large birds exclusively arboreal in their habits, and feeding mostly, if not entirely, upon fruit. A single species of wide distribution reaches its southern limit in the forests of the northern Argentine provinces.

275. RHAMPHASTOS TOCO, Gm.

(TOCO TOUCAN.)

+Rhamphastos toco+, _Gould, Mon. Rhamphast._ ed. 2, pl. i.; _Scl. et
Salv. Nomencl._ p. 108; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 620 (Oran and
Misiones).

_Description._--Above black; rump white, with a small scarlet patch
on each side: beneath black, throat white; crissum scarlet; bill
yellow, with a black blotch at the end of the upper mandible; feet
brown: whole length 22·0 inches, wing 9·5, tail 6·5. _Female_
similar.

_Hab._ Guiana, Amazonia, Brazil, Paraguay, and N. Argentina.

White met with this Toucan among the lofty forest trees at Campo Colorado, near Oran, where it was found in flocks. In Misiones it was more abundant, and was said to commit great havoc among the orange-groves.

Order V. PSITTACI.

Fam. XXIX. PSITTACIDÆ, or PARROTS.

Dr. Finsch's history of the Parrot tribe, published in 1867, included accounts of about 350 species, to which at least 50 more have been added during these last twenty years, so that upwards of 400 Parrots are now known to science. Of these, about 150 belong to the New World, mostly to the intertropical portion, though Parrots are found as far north as the U.S., and as far south as Chili and Patagonia.

In the Argentine Republic the presence of ten species of Psittacidæ has been recorded, but only two of these are found in the vicinity of Buenos Ayres, the remaining eight being restricted to the more northern and western portions of the country.

276. CONURUS PATAGONUS (Vieill).

(PATAGONIAN PARROT.)

+Conurus patagonus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 441; _Scl. et
Salv. Nomencl._ p. 111; _Scl. P. Z. S._ 1872, p. 549 (Rio Negro),
et 1873, p. 761; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 186 (Buenos Ayres),
et 1878, p. 396 (Chupat); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 620
(Catamarca); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 28 (Bahia Blanca). +Conurus
patachonicus+, _Darwin, Zool. Beagle_, iii. p. 113 (Bahia
Blanca).

_Description._--Above dark olive-green, forehead darker; wings edged
with bluish, lower back yellow: beneath olive-green, darker on
throat; band across the neck whitish; belly yellow, with a large
patch in the middle and the thighs red: whole length 18·0 inches,
wing 9·2, tail 10·5. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Argentina and Patagonia.

This Parrot, called in La Plata the Bank- or Burrowing-Parrot, from its nesting-habits, is the only member of its order found so far south as Patagonia. In habits it differs somewhat from most of its congeners, and it may be regarded, I think, as one of those species which are dying out--possibly owing to the altered conditions resulting from the settlement of the country by Europeans. It was formerly abundant on the southern pampas of La Plata, and being partially migratory its flocks ranged in winter to Buenos Ayres, and even as far north as the Paraná river. When, as a child, I lived near the capital city (Buenos Ayres), I remember that I always looked forward with the greatest delight to the appearance of these noisy dark-green winter visitors. Now they are rarely seen within a hundred miles of Buenos Ayres; and I have been informed by old gauchos that half a century before my time they invariably appeared in immense flocks in winter, and have since gradually diminished in numbers, until now in that district the Bank-Parrot is almost a thing of the past. Two or three hundred miles south of Buenos Ayres city they are still to be met with in rather large flocks, and have a few ancient breeding-places, to which they cling very tenaciously. Where there are trees or bushes on their feeding-ground they perch on them; they also gather the berries of the _Empetrum rubrum_ and other fruits from the bushes; but they feed principally on the ground, and, while the flock feeds, one bird is invariably perched on a stalk or other elevation to act as sentinel. They are partial to the seeds of the giant thistle (_Carduus mariana_), and the wild pumpkin, and to get at the latter they bite the hard dry shell into pieces with their powerful beaks. When a horseman appears in the distance they rise in a compact flock, with loud harsh screams, and hover above him, within a very few yards of his head, their combined dissonant voices producing an uproar which is only equalled in that pandemonium of noises, the Parrot-house in the Zoological Gardens of London. They are extremely social, so much so that their flocks do not break up in the breeding-season; and their burrows, which they excavate in a perpendicular cliff or high bank, are placed close together; so that when the gauchos take the young birds--esteemed a great delicacy--the person who ventures down by means of a rope attached to his waist is able to rifle a whole colony. The burrow is three to five feet deep, and four white eggs are deposited on a slight nest at the extremity. I have only tasted the old birds, and found their flesh very bitter, scarcely palatable.

The natives say that this species cannot be taught to speak; and it is certain that the few individuals I have seen tame were unable to articulate.

Doubtless these Parrots were originally stray colonists from the tropics, although now resident in so cold a country as Patagonia. When viewed closely, one would also imagine that they must at one time have been brilliant-plumaged birds; but either natural selection, or the direct effect of a bleak climate, has given a sombre shade to their colours--green, blue, yellow, and crimson; and when seen flying at a distance, or in cloudy weather, they look as dark as crows.

277. CONURUS ACUTICAUDATUS (Vieill.).

(SHARP-TAILED PARROT.)

+Conurus acuticaudatus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 111; _White, P.
Z. S._ 1882, p. 621 (Catamarca). +Conurus fugax+, _Burm. La-Plata
Reise_, ii. p. 441. +Conurus glaucifrons+ _Leybold, Leopoldina_,
Heft viii. p. 52 (1873).

_Description._--Above and beneath green; top of head and cheeks
bluish; inner margins of wing-feathers yellowish grey; inner webs
of tail-feathers at their bases red; upper mandible pale whitish,
lower black: whole length 13·0 inches, wing 7·5, tail 7·0. _Female_
similar.

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

White obtained specimens of this Parrot near Andalgala in Catamarca in September 1880. He tells us that it is not very abundant in that district, and flies very swiftly in flocks of seven or eight, screeching continually when on the wing.

278. CONURUS MITRATUS, Tsch.

(RED-HEADED PARROT.)

+Conurus mitratus+, _Tsch. Faun. Per., Av._ p. 272, t. xxvi. f. 2;
_Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 112. +Conurus hilaris+, _Burm.
La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 442 (Tucuman); _id. Wiegm. Arch._ 1879,
pt. i. p. 100; _id. P. Z. S._ 1878, p. 75.

_Description._--Bright green; front and sides of head red: beneath
rather paler; under wing-coverts green; lower surface of tail
yellowish; in some specimens with irregular patches of red on the
neck and breast; bill pale; feet brown: whole length 14·0 inches,
wing 8·0, tail 7·0.

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, and Northern Argentina.

Dr. Burmeister met with this Parrot near Tucuman, where he found it "very common, especially in winter." At first he made a new species of it, but afterwards recognized its identity with _Conurus mitratus_ of Tschudi.

Dr. Burmeister has kindly sent two specimens of this bird to Sclater, for his collection. Sclater has also examples of the same species procured by Schulz near Cordova, and in Bolivia by Bridges.

279. CONURUS MOLINÆ, Mass. et Souanc.

(MOLINA'S PARROT.)

[Plate XIV.]

+Conurus molinæ+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 112; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 621 (Salta).

_Description._--Above green; crown brown; nape bluish; cheeks green;
wings edged with blue; tail coppery red: beneath green, breast and
sides of neck whity brown, with dark cross bars; middle of belly
dull red: whole length 9·5 inches, wing 5·0, tail 5·3. _Female_
similar.

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

White met with this Parrot in the dense forests of Campo Colorado near Oran, where it is found in flocks of about twenty, "their flight being limited, for the most part, to the clear aisles beneath the branches." White's specimen in Sclater's collection, from which our figure (Plate XIV.) is taken, agrees with others of the species obtained by Natterer in Mato Grosso.

280. BOLBORHYNCHUS MONACHUS (Bodd.).

(GREEN PARRAKEET.)

+Conurus murinus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 441; _Darwin, Zool.
Beagle_, iii. p. 112 (Paraná). +Bolborhynchus monachus+, _Scl. et
Salv. Nomencl._ p. 113; _Durnford, Ibis_, 1877, p. 186 (Buenos
Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 3 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z.
S._ 1882, p. 621 (Catamarca, Santiago del Estero); _Barrows,
Auk_, 1884, p. 28 (Entrerios); _Burm. P. Z. S._ 1878, p. 77.

_Description._--Green; front grey, with paler margins to the
feathers; wings blackish, with slight bluish edgings: beneath grey,
with lighter margins to the breast-feathers; under wing-coverts,
flanks, and crissum pale green; bill whitish: whole length 11·0
inches, wing 5·5, tail 5·3. _Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.

The Common Green Parrakeet, called _Cotorra_ or _Catita_ in the vernacular, is a well-known resident species in the Argentine Republic. It is a lively restless bird, shrill-voiced, and exceedingly vociferous, living and breeding in large communities, and though it cannot learn to speak so distinctly as some of the larger Parrots, it is impossible to observe its habits without being convinced that it shares in the intelligence of the highly-favoured order to which it belongs.

In Buenos Ayres it was formerly very much more numerous than it is now; but it is exceedingly tenacious of its breeding-places, and there are some few favoured localities where it still exists in large colonies, in spite of the cruel persecution all birds easily killed are subjected to in a country where laws relating to such matters are little regarded, and where the agricultural population is chiefly Italian. At Mr. Gibson's residence near Cape San Antonio, on the Atlantic coast, there is still a large colony of these birds inhabiting the Tala woods (_Celtis tala_), and I take the following facts from one of his papers on the ornithology of the district.

He describes the woods as being full of their nests, with their bright-coloured talkative denizens and their noisy chatter all day long drowning every other sound. They are extremely sociable and breed in communities. When a person enters the wood their subdued chatter suddenly ceases, and during the ominous silence a hundred pairs of black beady eyes survey the intruder from the nests and branches; and then follows a whirring of wings and an outburst of screams that spreads the alarm throughout the woods. The nests are frequented all the year, and it is rare to find a large one unattended by some of the birds any time during the day. In summer and autumn they feed principally on the thistle; first the flower is cut up and pulled to pieces for the sake of the green kernel, and later they eat the fallen seed on the ground. Their flight is rapid, with quick flutters of the wings, which seem never to be raised to the level of the body. They pay no regard to a _Polyborus_ or _Milvago_, but mob any other bird of prey appearing in the woods, all the Parrakeets rising in a crowd and hovering about it with angry screams.

The nests are suspended from the extremities of the branches, to which they are firmly woven. New nests consist of only two chambers, the porch and the nest proper, and are inhabited by a single pair of birds. Successive nests are added, until some of them come to weigh a quarter of a ton, and contain material enough to fill a large cart. Thorny twigs, firmly interwoven, form the only material, and there is no lining in the breeding-chamber, even in the breeding-season. Some old forest trees have seven or eight of these huge structures suspended from the branches, while the ground underneath is covered with twigs and remains of fallen nests. The entrance to the chamber is generally underneath, or if at the side is protected by an overhanging eave to prevent the intrusion of opossums. These entrances lead into the porch or outer chamber, and the latter communicates with the breeding-chamber. The breeding-chambers are not connected with each other, and each set is used by one pair of birds.

The number of pairs does not exceed a dozen, even with the largest nests. Repairs are carried on all the year round, but new nests are only added at the approach of spring. Opossums are frequently found in one of the higher chambers, when the entrance has been made too high, but though they take up their abode there they cannot reach the other chambers, and the Parrakeets refuse to go away. A species of Teal (probably _Querquedula brasiliensis_) also sometimes occupies and breeds in their chambers, and in one case Mr. Gibson found an opossum domiciled in an upper chamber, Parrakeets occupying all the others except one, in which a Teal was sitting on eggs.

The breeding-season begins about November 1, and as many as seven or eight eggs are laid; these are dull white, very thin-shelled, elongated, and have the greatest diameter exactly equidistant from the two ends.

Mr. Barrows speaks as follows of this species in Entrerios:--"An abundant and familiar bird in the neighbourhood of Concepcion through the entire year. It is commonly seen in flocks of twenty and upwards, visiting grain-fields, gardens, &c., and sometimes, if I was correctly informed, it has appeared in flocks of tens of thousands, completely stripping the grain-fields. They nest in communities, many pairs uniting in the building of a large common nest or mass of nests. I only saw these nests on two occasions, and had no opportunity of examining their structure. They were placed on high trees, and appeared from below to be simply irregular masses, six or eight feet in diameter, formed of small sticks and twigs. Where the nests are abundant the natives destroy the young by hundreds, and the 'squabs' when nearly grown are said to be very fine eating. The young are easily tamed, and may be taught to articulate a few simple words."

281. BOLBORHYNCHUS AYMARA (d'Orb.).

(AYMARA PARRAKEET.)

[Plate XV.]

+Conurus aymara+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 442 (Mendoza).
+Bolborhynchus aymara+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 113; _White,
P. Z. S._ 1883, p. 40 (Cordova). +Conurus brunniceps+, _Burm.
Journ. f. Orn._ 1860, p. 243.

_Description._--Above green; head earthy brown: beneath pale grey,
nearly white on the sides of the head; under wing-coverts, flanks,
lower belly, and crissum pale green; under surface of wings and tail
blackish; beak whitish: whole length 7·0 inches, wing 3·9, tail 4·0.
_Female_ similar.

_Hab._ Bolivia and N. Argentina.