Sub-Fam.—FRINGILLINÆ.
1. Ammodramus longicaudatus. Gould.
Plate XXIX.
A. vertice humeroque cinereo-fuscis, dorso pallescenti fusco, uropygio rufescenti-fusco tincto, plumis singulis strigâ mediâ fuscâ; tectricibus alarum majoribus, remigibus primariis secundariisque et caudâ nigrescentibus, cinereo albo externe marginatis; fronte, strigâ superciliari corporeque infra flavescentibus.
Long. tot. 5¾ unc.; alæ, 2⅜; caudæ, 3; tarsi, ¾; rostri, ⁹⁄₁₆.
Crown of the head and shoulder, greyish brown; back, light brown, tinged with reddish brown on the rump, and with a stripe of dark brown down the centre of each feather; greater wing-coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tail blackish, margined externally with greyish white; forehead, stripe over the eye, and all the under surface, buff; bill black; feet brown. Young, or a bird after gaining its new plumage, differs in having the whole of the upper surface rich brown, with a tinge of olive and with a stripe of dark brown down each feather, and in having the wing coverts margined with reddish instead of greyish brown.
Habitat, Monte Video (November), Maldonado (June).
At Maldonado this bird frequented, in small flocks, reeds and other aquatic plants bordering lakes. In general habits, as well as in place of resort, it resembles those species of Synallaxis and Limnornis, with which it is often associated. It appears to live entirely on insects, and I found in the stomach of one which I opened various minute Coleoptera. Mr. Gould remarks, that the structure of this Ammodramus is very remarkable, for that it has a great general resemblance both in form and colouring to Synallaxis, although the thickness of its bill shows its relation to the Fringillinæ. In its habits it certainly is more allied to the former genus, than to its own family.
2. Ammodramus Manimbe. G. R. Gray.
Plate XXX.
Ammodramus xanthornus, in Plate, and in Gould’s MS.
Fringilla Manimbè, Licht., Cat. No. 253.
Emberiza Manimbè, D’Orb. & Lafr., Syn. p. 77.
Manimbè, Azara, No. 141.
My specimen was obtained from Maldonado.
Birds. Pl. 29.
Ammodramus longicaudatus.
Birds. Pl. 30.
Ammodramus xanthornus.
1. Zonotrichia matutina. G. R. Gray.
Fringilla matutina, Licht., Cat. 25.
—— Kittl. Kupfertafeln der Vögel, pl. 23. f. 3.
Tanagra ruficollis, Spix, Av. Sp. Nov. ii. t. liii. f. 3. p. 39.
Chingolo, Azara, No. 135. Chingolo Bunting, Lath. Hist.
I procured specimens of this species from the banks of the Plata, Bahia Blanca in Northern Patagonia, and from Valparaiso in Chile: in these countries it is perhaps the commonest bird. In the Cordillera, I have seen it at an elevation of at least 8000 feet. It generally prefers inhabited places, but it has not attained the air of domestication of the English sparrow, which bird in habits and general appearance it represents. It does not go in flocks, although several may be frequently seen feeding together. At Monte Video I found on the ground the nest of this species. It contained three eggs; these were .75 of an inch in length; form, rather rounded; colour, dirty white, with numerous small spots of chesnut and blackish brown, almost confluent towards the broadest end. It was in this nest that I found the parasitic egg, supposed to belong to a species of Molothrus, described in my journal.[[12]]
2. Zonotrichia canicapilla. Gould.
Z. vertice cinereo; loris regioneque paroticâ obscure fuscis: dorso collique lateribus rufis, dorso superiori et uropygio fuscis; dorso medio nigrescenti fusco, plumis singulis pallido fusco marginatis; tectricibus alarum nigrescenti fuscis, rufescente fusco marginatis, apice albis, duas fascias obliquas trans alarum formantibus.
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; alæ, 2⅞; caudæ, 2½; tarsi, ⅞; rostri, ½.
Crown of the head grey; lores and ear-coverts dark brown; back and sides of the neck rufous; upper part of the back and rump brown; centre of the back blackish brown, each feather margined with light brown; wing-coverts blackish brown, margined with reddish brown, and tipped with white, forming two oblique bands across the wing; primaries, secondaries, and tail, dark brown, margined with greyish brown; throat and all the under surface brownish grey; and feet brown.
Habitat, Port Desire in Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego.
This species is not uncommon in Tierra del Fuego, wherever there is any open space. Of the few birds inhabiting the desert plains of Patagonia, this is the most abundant. At Port Desire I found its nest: egg, about .83 in length; form somewhat more elongated than in that of the last species; colour, pale green, almost obscured by minute freckles and clouds of pale dull red.
3. Zonotrichia Strigiceps. Gould.
Z. capite castaneo, lineâ mediâ obscure diviso, plumis singulis striâ mediâ nigro-fuscâ, humeri flexurâ rufâ; corpore supra fuscescente, plumis singulis striâ latâ mediâ obscure fuscâ; remigibus, primariis caudâque nigro-fuscis pallidè fusco marginatis; strigâ superciliari, faciei collique lateribus, gulâ pectore abdomineque medio cinereis; hypochondriis tegminibusque caudæ inferioribus flavescentibus.
Long. tot. 5¾ unc.; rostri, ½; alæ, 2½; caudæ, 2⅞; tarsi, ⅝.
Head chestnut, divided down the middle by a line of deep grey, each feather with a stripe of blackish brown down the centre; point of the shoulder rufous; the remainder of the upper surface light brown, with a broad stripe of dark brown down the centre of each feather; primaries and tail brown; secondaries blackish brown, margined all round with pale brown; stripe over each eye, sides of the face and neck, throat, breast, and centre of the abdomen, grey; flanks and under tail-coverts buff; upper mandible black; under mandible light horn colour; feet brown.
Habitat, Santa Fe. Lat. 31° S. (October.)
This species appears to replace in this latitude the Z. matutina, which is so abundant on the banks of the Plata and in Chile, as that species does the Z. canicapilla of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Passerina jacarina. Vieill.
Tanagra jacarina, Linn.
Passerina jacarina, Vieill. Ency. Meth. p. 933.
Emberiza jacarina, D’Orb. & Lafr., Syn.
Le Sauteur, Azara, No. 138.
Euphone jacarina, Licht. Cat. p. 30.
Fringilla splendens, Vieill. Ency. p. 981?
I procured a specimen of this bird at Rio de Janeiro.
1. Fringilla Diuca. Mol.
Fringilla Diuca, Kittl. Mem. de St. Petersb. t. i. pl. 11.
—— Mag. de Zool. 1837, pl. 69.
Emberiza Diuca, D’Orb. & Lafr. Syn. Mag. of Zool. 1838, f. 77.
This bird is very common on the coast of Chile, from the humid forests of Chiloe to the desert mountains of Copiapó. In Chiloe it is perhaps the most abundant of the land birds; south of Chiloe I never saw it, although the nature of the country does not change them. On the eastern side of the continent, I met with this bird only at the Rio Negro, in northern Patagonia. I do not believe it inhabits the shores of the Plata, although so common in the open country, under corresponding latitudes west of the Cordillera. The Diuca, as this Fringilla is called in Chile, generally moves in small flocks, and frequents, although not exclusively, cultivated ground in the neighbourhood of houses: habits very similar to those of the Zonotrichia matutina. During incubation, the male utters two or three pleasing notes, which Molina has in an exaggerated description called a fine song. In October, at Valparaiso, I found the nest of this bird in the trellis-work of a vineyard, close by a much frequented path. The nest is shallow, and about six inches across; the outer part is very coarse, and composed of the thin stalks of twining plants, strengthened by the husky calices of a composite flower; this outside part is lined by many pieces of rag, thread, string, tow, and a few feathers. Eggs rather pointed, oval, ·94 of an inch in length; colour, pale dirty green, thickly blotched by rather pale dull brown, which small blotches and spots become confluent, and entirely colour the broad end.
2. Fringilla Gayi. Eyd. & Gerv.
Fringilla Gayi, Eyd. & Gerv. Mag. de Zool. 1834. pl. 23.
Emberiza Gayi, var. D’Orb. & Lafr. Syn. p. 76.
This Fringilla, which was first brought from Chile, is abundant in the southern parts of Patagonia.
3. Fringilla formosa. Gould.
F. fronte lorisque nigris; vertice, genis, gulâ, alarum tegminibus cæruleo griseis, tegminibus primariis, secundariis rectricibusque griseo-nigris, cærulescenti-griseo marginatis, dorso flavescenti castaneo; tegminibus caudalibus inferioribus pallidè griseis; uropygio pectore abdomine hypochondriisque saturatè flavis.
Long. tot. 5½ unc.; alæ, 3¼; caudæ, 2⅝; tarsi, ¾; rostri, ½.
Forehead and lores black; crown of the head, sides of the face, throat, wing coverts, and the margins of the primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers, blue grey; the remainder of the primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers, greyish black; back yellowish chestnut; under tail coverts light-grey; rump, breast, abdomen and flanks, deep wax yellow; bill bluish horn colour; feet light brown.
Habitat, Tierra del Fuego (December and February).
This finch is common on the outskirts of the forests in Tierra del Fuego. Mr. Gould remarks, that it is nearly allied to F. Gayi, but it is much smaller, and is richer in its colouring.
4. Fringilla fruticeti. Kittl.
Fringilla fruticeti, Kittl. Kupf. der Vögel, pl. 23. f. 1.
Emberiza luctuosa, Eyd. et Gerv. Mag. de Zool. 1834. Cl. 11. pl. 71.
——— D’Orb. & Lafr. Syn. p. 80.
I obtained specimens of this bird from Northern Chile, and Southern Patagonia. I saw it also in the Cordillera of Central Chile, at an elevation of at least eight thousand feet, near the upper limit of vegetation. In Patagonia it is not common, it frequents bushy valleys in small flocks, from six to ten in number. These birds sometimes move from thicket to thicket with a peculiar soaring flight: they occasionally utter very singular and pleasing notes.
5. Fringilla carbonaria. G. R. Gray.
Emberiza carbonaria, D’Orb. & Lafr. Synop. p. 79.
I never saw this bird but once, and then it was in small flocks, on the most desert parts of the plains between the rivers Negro and Colorado, in Northern Patagonia.
6. Fringilla alaudina. Kittl.
Fringilla alaudina, Kupf. der Vögel, pl. 23. f. 2.
Emberiza guttata, Meyen, Nov. Act. Cur. xvii. pl. 12.
——— D’Orb. & Lafr. Syn. p. 78: Adult.
Passerina guttata, Eyd. & Gerv. Mag. de Zool. 1834. pl. 70. p. 22.
My specimens were obtained from the neighbourhood of Valparaiso.
Birds. Pl. 31.
Passer Jagoensis.
Birds. Pl. 32.
Chlorospiza melanodera.
1. Passer Jagoensis. Gould.
Plate XXXI.
Pyrgita Jagoensis, Gould, Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1837. p. 77.
P. summo capite, et maculâ parvâ gulari intensè nigrescenti-fuscis; strigâ superciliari, collo, humeris dorsoque intensè castaneis, hujus plumis strigâ fuscâ centrali notatis; alis caudâque brunneis, tectricibus alarum minoribus albis, qui color fasciam transversam efficit: lineâ angustâ albâ à nare ad oculum; genis corporeque subtùs albis, hoc colore in cinereum ad latera transeunte: rostro, pedibusque fuscis.
Long. tot. 5 unc.; caudæ, 2¼; alæ, 2½; rost. ½; tarsi, ⁵⁄₄.
Crown of the head and a small mark on the throat intense blackish brown, with a stripe on the eyebrows, the neck, shoulders and back bright chestnut, the feathers of the latter marked with a central dusky streak; wings and tail brown, with the smaller wing coverts white, forming a transverse bar; a narrow white line from the nostrils to the eye; cheeks and under side of body white, this colour passing into grey on the sides; beak and feet dusky.
Habitat, St. Jago, Cape Verde Islands (January).
This is the commonest bird in the island; it frequents, generally in small flocks, both the neighbourhood of houses and wild uninhabited spots. It was building its nest towards the end of August.
2. Passer Hispaniolensis. G. R. Gray.
Fringilla Hispaniolensis, Temm. Man. i, 353.
In the month of January I obtained a specimen of this bird from St. Jago, one of the Cape Verde Islands, where it was not common.
1. Chlorospiza? melanodera. G. R. Gray.
Plate XXXII.
Emberiza melanodera, Quoy & Gaim. Voy. de L’Uranie, Zool. i. p. 109.
C. flavescenti olivacea; dorso superiori cinereo rufoque mixto; vertice, auribus, colli lateribus pectoreque cinereis rufomixtis; lineâ à naribus pone oculos transiente genisque albis; plumis inter rostrum et oculos gulâque atris; remigibus primariis et secundariis nigrescentibus flavo marginatis: caudâ rectricibus mediis olivaceo fuscis, tribus externis ferè toto pallidè flavis; abdomine medio flavescenti albo, lateribus obscurioribus.
Long. tot. 6½ unc.; alæ, 3½; caudæ, 2¾; tarsi, 10 lines; rostri, 5 lin.
Adult. Yellowish olive, mixed with grey and rufous on the upper part of the back; top of the head, ears, sides of the neck and breast, grey mixed with rufous; the lines from the nostrils reaching behind the eyes and cheeks, white; the space between the bill and eye, and the throat, deep black; the primaries and secondaries blackish, margined with yellow; the tail, with the middle feathers, olivaceous black, with the three external nearly wholly pale yellow; the middle of the abdomen yellowish white, with the flanks darker.
Young: Upper surface brownish white, with the middle of each feather black; the throat lighter; the wing coverts and secondaries margined with white and brown; the primaries with yellow; the tail blackish, with their outer margins yellow, and the external feather wholly pale yellow white; beneath the body pale yellowish white, streaked on the breast and flanks with a darker tint.
Habitat, East Falkland Island {March), and Santa Cruz, Patagonia (April).
This bird is extremely abundant in large scattered flocks in the Falkland Islands.
2. Chlorospiza? xanthogramma. G. R. Gray.
Plate XXXIII.
C. cinerascenti olivacea, rufo paulo tincta; lineâ à naribus pone oculos transiente genisque flavis; plumis inter rostrum et oculos gulâque atris; remigibus secundariis nigrescentibus, cinereo et olivaceo latè marginatis; primariis nigrescentibus, flavo angustè marginatis; caudâ cinerascenti nigrâ, plumis externis albis; corpore infra flavescenti albo, hypochondriis obscurioribus.
Long. tot. 7²⁄₈ unc.; alæ, 3⅞; caudæ, 3; tarsi, 1; rostri, 7 lin.
Adult: Greyish olive, very slightly mixed with rufous, a line from the nostrils reaching behind the eyes and cheeks, yellow; the space between the bill and eye, and the entire throat, deep black; the secondaries blackish, broadly margined with grey and olive; the primaries blackish, slightly margined with yellow; the tail greyish black, with the outer feathers white; beneath the body yellowish white, darker on the flanks.
Female: Upper surface brownish white, with each feather blackish brown in the middle, the head and throat paler; the wing-coverts and secondaries blackish, margined with brownish white; the primaries blackish, slightly margined with yellow; the tail blackish white-margined, with the outer feathers nearly wholly white; beneath the body yellowish white, streaked with brown on the breast and flanks: and the space from the nostrils reaching to behind the eyes and cheeks, yellowish.
Habitat, East Falkland Island (March), and Tierra del Fuego (February).
Birds. Pl. 33.
Chlorospiza Xanthogramma.
Birds. Pl. 34.
Tanagra Darwinii.
This species is common at the Falkland Islands, and it often occurs mingled in the same flock with the last one. I suspect, however, it more commonly frequents higher parts of the hills. These species have a very close general resemblance; but the marks about the head, which are white in the C. melanodera, are yellow in the C. xanthogramma, while the parts of the tail-feathers which are white in the latter, are yellow in the C. melanodera: this difference of colours does not hold in the females, but they may be at once distinguished by the greater length of wing, when folded, of the C. xanthogramma.
Chrysomitris Magellanica. Bonap.
Fringilla Magellanica, Vieill. Ency. Meth. 983; Ois. Chant. de la Zône Torride, pl. 30; Audubon, Birds of Am. pl. 394, f. 2.
Gafarron, Azara, No. 134.
Fringilla icterica, Licht. Cat. p. 26.
This bird was very abundant in large flocks during May, at Maldonado; I found it also at the Rio Negro.
Sub-Family.—TANAGRINÆ.
Pitylus superciliaris.
Tanagra superciliaris, Spix. Av. Sp. Nov. 2. t. lvii. fig. 1. p. 44.
My specimen was procured from Santa Fé, in Lat. 31° S.
1. Aglaia striata. D’Orb. & Lafr.
Plate XXXIV.
♂ Tanagra striata, Gmel. Syst. 1. 899; Ency. Meth. 776; Licht. Cat. p. 31. Sp. 347; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 121, pl. 34 of this work.
L’Onglet, Buff. iv. p. 256.
Le Lindobleu, dore et noir, Azara, No. 94.
♀ Tanagra Darwinii, Bonap.; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 121.
I saw the only specimen, which I procured, feeding on the fruit of an opuntia at Maldonado.
Mr. G. R. Gray is induced to consider the species figured under the name of T. Darwinii, as the T. striata, Gm. and the T. Darwinii of the Zoological Society’s Proceedings, as the female of the same species, while the young birds may be described as following:
Brown, with the margins of the dorsal feathers greenish brown, those of the wings and tail margined brownish white; head and neck greyish green; beneath the body pale dusky green, somewhat darker on the breast and sides; uropygium yellowish green.
Three specimens of this species are contained in the British Museum, exhibiting male, female, and young.