Merops rufus, Gmel. Pl. enl. 739.
Opetiorhynchus rufus, Tem. Man.
Turdus vadius, Licht. Cat.
Figulus albogularis, Spix, Av. pl. lxxviii. f. 1 & 2.
Fournier, Buff., Azara, No. 221.
This bird is common in Banda Oriental, on the banks of the Plata; but I did not see it further southward. It is called by the Spaniards Casaro, or housebuilder, from the very singular nest which it constructs. The most exposed situation, as on the top of a post, the stem of an opuntia, or bare rock, is chosen. The nest consists of mud and bits of straw; it is very strong, and the sides are thick; in shape it resembles a depressed beehive or oven, and hence the name of the genus. Directly in front of the mouth of the nest, which is large and arched, there is a partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or ante-chamber to the true nest. At Maldonado, in the end of May, the bird was busy in building. The Furnarius is very common in Banda Oriental; it often haunts the bushes in the neighbourhood of houses; it is an active bird, and both walks and runs quickly, and generally by starts; it feeds chiefly on Coleoptera; it often utters a peculiar, loud, shrill, and quickly reiterated cry.
2. Furnarius cunicularius. G. R. Gray.
Alauda cunicularia, Vieill.
Alauda fissirostra, Kittl. Mem. l’Acad. St. Peters, ii. pl. 3.
Certhilauda cunicularia, D’Orb. & Lafr. Mag. de Zool.