This bird has a considerable geographical range. On the eastern side of the continent it is found from about 40° (for I never saw one in the southern districts of Patagonia) northward to at least 30°, and perhaps much further. On the western side its southern limit is the neighbourhood of Concepcion, where the country becomes dry and open, and it ranges throughout Chile (specimens were procured from Valparaiso) to at least as far north as Lima, in lat. 12°, on the coast of Peru. I may here observe, that the northern limit of all birds, which are lovers of dry countries, such as this Furnarius and some of the species of Mimus, is not probably at Lima but near Cape Blanco, 10° south of the Equator, where the open and parched land of Peru blends (as it was described to me) rather suddenly into the magnificent forests of Guayaquil. This Furnarius constantly haunts the driest and most open districts; and hence sand-dunes near the coast afford it a favourite resort. In La Plata, in Northern Patagonia, and in Central Chile, it is abundant: in the former country it is called Casarita, a name which has evidently been given from its relationship with the Casaro, or Furnarius rufus, for, as we shall see, its nidification is very different. It is a very tame, most quiet, solitary little bird, and like the English robin (Sylvia rubecula) it is usually most active early in the morning and late in the evening. When disturbed it flies only to a short distance; it is fond of dusting itself on the roads; it walks and runs (but not very quickly), and generally by starts. I opened the stomachs of some, and found in them remains of Coleoptera, and chiefly Carabidæ. At certain seasons it frequently utters a peculiar, shrill but gentle, reiterated cry, which is so quickly repeated as to produce one running sound. In this respect, and in its manner of walking on the ground, and in its food, this species closely resembles the Casaro, but in its quiet manners it differs widely from that active bird. Its nidification is likewise different, for it builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet under ground. Several of the country people told me, that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end. The bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road or stream. At the settlement of Bahia Blanca the walls are built of hardened mud; and I noticed one, enclosing a courtyard, where I lodged, which was penetrated by round holes in a score of places. On asking the owner the cause of this, he bitterly complained of the little Casarita, several of which I afterwards observed at work. It is rather curious, that as these birds were constantly flitting backwards and forwards over the low wall, they must be quite incapable of judging of distance or thickness even after the shortest circuitous route, for otherwise they would not have made so many vain attempts.
Uppucerthia dumetoria. J. Geoffr. & D’Orb.
Plate XIX.
Uppucerthia dumetoria, J. Geoffr. & D’Orb. Ann. du Mus. i. 393 and 394.
Furnarius dumetorum, D’Orb. MS.
Uppucerthia dumetorum, D’Orb. & Lafr. Mag. de Zool. 1838, p. 20.
This bird is an inhabitant of extremely sterile regions. I saw several at the Rio Negro, but at Port Desire they were, perhaps, more numerous. I did not observe it near Valparaiso, in Central Chile, but I procured specimens of it from Coquimbo, where the country is more desert. It frequents open places, in which a few bushes grow. It hops very quickly, and often flies quietly from one place to another. It may often be seen turning over and picking dry pieces of dung. It is a remarkable circumstance, that in the three specimens which I brought home, from different localities, namely the Rio Negro, Port Desire, and Coquimbo, the beak varies considerably in length: in that from Port Desire in Patagonia it is three-eighths of an inch shorter than in that from Coquimbo in Chile; whilst the Rio Negro specimen is intermediate between them. Mr. G. R. Gray has pointed out to me that Latham long since observed a great variation in the beak of the Patagonian warbler, Opetiorhynchus Patagonicus.
1. Opetiorhynchus vulgaris. G. R. Gray.
Uppucerthia vulgaris, D’Orb. & Lafr. Mag. de Zool. 1838, p. 23.
This bird in general habits has several points of resemblance with the Furnarius cunicularius, but differs in some other respects. Its flight is somewhat similar, but it shows two red bands on its wings, instead of one, by which it can be distinguished at a distance: instead of walking it only hops; it feeds entirely on the ground, and in its stomach I found scarcely anything but Coleopterous insects, and of these many were fungi feeders. It often frequents the borders of lakes, where the water has thrown up leaves and other refuse. It likewise may be met with in all parts of the open grassy plains of Banda Oriental, where (like the Uppucerthia at the Rio Negro) it often turns over dry dung. Its note is very like that of the F. cunicularius, but more acute, and consists of a shrill cry, quickly reiterated so as to make a running sound. I was informed that, like that bird, it builds its nest at the bottom of a deep burrow. This species is common in La Plata, the Falkland Islands, and Tierra del Fuego; in the latter it frequents the higher parts of the mountains, or those exposed to the western gales, which are free from forests, for it is a bird that exclusively lives in open countries and on the ground. I believe it is not found in Chile; nor is it common on the coast of Patagonia. This species in its habits is very different from the three following closely allied ones, since the latter never, or most rarely, leave the sea beach, whilst this bird, excepting by chance, is never seen there, but always in the interior country. Nevertheless with this marked difference in habits, (there are several other points beside that of the station frequented), if the preserved skins of O. parvulus and O. vulgaris were placed in the hands of any one, even perhaps of a practised ornithologist, he would at first hesitate to consider them distinct, although upon closer examination he would find many points of difference,—of which the much greater strength of the feet and the greater length of the tarsus are conspicuous in those species, which live amongst the stones on the sea beach.