Scytalopus Magellanicus. G. R. Gray.
Sylvia Magellanica, Lath. Index, ii. p. 528. ♀ Forst. Dr. No. 163. ♀
Scytalopus fuscus, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part iv. 1836, p. 39. ♂
—— Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn. New Ser. pl. 19. ♂
Platyurus niger, Swains., Two Cent. and a Quarter, p. 323. ♂
This bird has a wider range than the species of the foregoing and closely allied genus. It is common near Port Famine in Tierra del Fuego, and on the west coast in the thickly wooded islets of the Chonos Archipelago. I was assured by an intelligent collector that this bird is met with, though rarely, in central Chile; and Mr. Gould informs me, that he has received specimens from that country. It has found its way over to the Falkland Islands, where, instead of inhabiting forests, it frequents the coarse herbage and low bushes, which in most parts conceal the peaty surface of that island. In general appearance the Scytalopus fuscus might at first be mistaken for a Troglodytes, but in habits it is closely allied to the several species of Pteroptochos. In a skulking manner, with its little tail erect, it hops about the most entangled parts of the forests of Tierra del Fuego; but when near the outskirts, it every now and then pops out, and then quickly back again. It utters many loud and strange cries: to obtain a good view of it is not always easy, and still less so to make it fly. A specimen I procured at Chiloe had its upper mandible stronger and more arched, but differed in no other respect.
1. Troglodytes Magellanicus. Gould.
T. Magellanicus, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part iv. 1836, p. 88.
This bird has a considerable range. I procured specimens of it near Rio de Janeiro, on the banks of the Plata, throughout Patagonia, in Tierra del Fuego, where it is one of the commonest birds, and likewise in Central Chile: its habits resemble very closely those of the common Troglodytes of England. In the open country near Bahia Blanca it lived amongst the thickets and coarse herbage in the valleys; in Tierra del Fuego, in the outskirts of the forest. Its chirp is harsh. In Chile I saw one in October building its nest in a hole in a stone wall, in a situation such as would have been chosen by our Troglodytes.