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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Prof. Burmeister found this Parrakeet not uncommon on the borders of the sierra near Mendoza. White met with it near Cosquin in the province of Cordova, in flocks on the mountain-tops, about 3500 feet above the sea-level. He says it is called “Catita de las sierras,” and that it never descends to the valleys. Its flight is very swift, and is accompanied by a sort of chirping.
The figure (Plate XV.) is taken from a specimen in Sclater’s collection, obtained by Buckley in Bolivia.
Conurus rubrirostris, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 442; id. P. Z. S. 1878, p. 77. Bolborhynchus rubrirostris, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 113.
Description.—Uniform green; wing-feathers blackish, edged with blue; bill rosy red: whole length 7·0 inches, wing 5·0, tail 2·8.
Hab. Argentina.
Prof. Burmeister discovered this little Parrot, of which we have never seen specimens, in the ravines of the Sierra of Uspallata, and also met with it in the Sierra of Cordova. It lives in small flocks, which fly away screaming when approached.
Chrysotis vinacea, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 113; White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 621 (Misiones).
Description.—Above green, feathers of neck and back edged with blackish; front, lores, and wing-spot scarlet; beneath paler, throat and breast vinaceous, feathers edged with blackish; bend of wing and base of tail-feathers scarlet: whole length 14·0 inches, wing 7·2, tail 4·7. Female similar.
Hab. S. Brazil, Paraguay, and N. Argentina.
This Parrot, which is enumerated by Azara among the birds of Paraguay, was also found by White in the adjoining district of Misiones in the Argentine Republic. White gives us the following notes on its habits:—“Both in Concepcion and San Javier these Parrots are found in incredible numbers feeding in the orange-groves which cover and enclose the extensive Jesuit ruins of those parts of Misiones. They seem to be very voracious, as they feed all day long; and the inhabitants shoot them for food; but they are not easily scared, for on hearing a shot they only fly up in clouds to descend again, meanwhile making the air resound with their shrill cries. They can be taught to talk tolerably well if taken young.”
Chrysotis æstiva, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 114; Salvin, Ibis, 1880, p. 361 (Salta). Psittacus amazonicus, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 443 (?). Chrysotis amazonica, White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 621 (?).
Description.—Above green, feathers edged with blackish; crown yellow; front blue; wing-patch scarlet: beneath green, cheeks and throat yellow; bend of wings and inner base of tail scarlet: whole length 15·0 inches, wing 8·5, tail 5·0. Female similar.
Hab. Brazil, Paraguay, and N. Argentina.
Durnford obtained a specimen of this Parrot near Salta in the province of Oran, which has been identified by Mr. Salvin. It is probable that the birds referred to C. amazonica by Prof. Burmeister and White may belong to this same species.
Pionus maximiliani, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 114; White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 622 (Salta).
Description.—Dark green; lores blackish; feathers of nape dirty white margined with green; front and cheeks bluish: beneath dusky green, crissum scarlet: whole length 9·0 inches, wing 6·5, tail 3·2. Female similar.
White obtained a single specimen of this Parrot in the dense forests of the Rio Vermejo, near Oran, in November 1880.
About 40 different species of the nocturnal birds of prey are known to occur in the Neotropical Region. Six of them have been recorded as being found more or less frequently within the limits of the Argentine Republic. Of these, the Burrowing-Owl (Pholeoptynx cunicularia) is one of the most characteristic inhabitants of the Argentine Pampas, while two others, the Barn-Owl and the Short-eared Owl, are very widely diffused species, also well known in England.
Strix flammea, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 116; Durnford, Ibis, 1877, p. 187 (Buenos Ayres); White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 622 (Misiones); Withington, Ibis, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora); Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 291. Aluco flammeus, Barrows, Auk, 1884, p. 29 (Entrerios). Strix perlata, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 440; Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, p. 49.
Description.—Above orange-brown, marbled with ashy and white, and dotted with black spots with central white points; wings and tail crossed by four or five blackish bands; face silvery white, with a posterior and inferior border of orange-brown and black: beneath white, more or less suffused with tawny, except on the lower belly, and dotted with distinct rounded black spots; bill yellowish; tarsus feathered; toes slightly bristled; claws long and sharp: whole length 15·0 inches, wing 12·5, tail 5·0. Female similar.
Hab. Old and New Worlds.
This widely distributed species is found throughout South America; and in its habits and sepulchral voice, as well as in its pretty reddish buff, grey, and white plumage, is identical with the European bird. D’Orbigny expressed astonishment that this Owl, which is never seen in uninhabited places, invariably appears to keep company with man wherever a settlement is formed, even in the most lonely and isolated spots. Probably it is much more numerous than most people imagine, sheltering itself everywhere in caverns and hollow trees, so that it is always present, and ready to take early advantage of the commodious church-tower or other large building raised by man. On the level pampas, where there are no hills or suitable hiding-places, it is rarely seen: it is exclusively a town bird.
Nothing more need be said of the habits of a species so well known, and about which there is so much recorded in general works of Natural History.
Otus palustris, Darwin, Zool. Beagle, iii. p. 33. Otus brachyotus, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 116; Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 439 (Rosario); Hudson, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 800 (Buenos Ayres); Durnford, Ibis, 1877, p. 186 (Buenos Ayres), et 1878, p. 396 (Patagonia). Asio brachyotus, Gibson, Ibis, 1879, p. 423 (Buenos Ayres); White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 622 (Buenos Ayres); Withington, Ibis, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora). Asio accipitrinus, Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 234.
Description.—Above streaked and variegated with fulvous and blackish brown; face whitish, with a large central blotch of blackish round the eye; wings pale tawny white, with several irregular broad blackish cross bars; tail whitish, with four or five broad black cross bands: beneath as above, but much whiter on the belly, which is only slightly streaked, and without markings on the crissum and thighs; bill black; tarsi and toes densely feathered: whole length 15·0 inches, wing 13·0, tail 6·0. Female similar, but rather larger.
Hab. Old and New Worlds.
The Short-eared Owl is found throughout the Argentine country, where it is commonly called Lechuzon (big Owl) in the vernacular. Like the species last described—the Barn-Owl—it has an exceedingly wide range. It is found throughout the continent of Europe; it also inhabits Asia and Africa, many of the Pacific Islands, and both Americas, from Canada down to the Straits of Magellan. Such a very wide distribution would seem to indicate that it possesses some advantage over its congeners, and is (as an Owl) more perfect than others. It is rather more diurnal in its habits than most Owls, and differs structurally from other members of its order in having a much smaller head. It is also usually said to be a weak flier; but this I am sure is a great mistake, for it seems to me the strongest flier amongst Owls, and very migratory in its habits, or, at any rate, very much given to wandering. Probably its very extensive distribution is due in some measure to a greater adaptability than is possessed by most species; also to its better sight in the daytime, and to its wandering disposition, which enables it to escape a threatened famine, and to seize on unoccupied or favourable ground.
The bird loves an open country, and sits by day on the ground concealed amongst the herbage or tall grass. An hour before sunset it quits its hiding-place, and is seen perched on a bush or tall stalk, or sailing about a few feet above the ground with a singularly slow, heron-like flight; and at intervals while flying it smites its wings together under its breast in a quick sudden manner. It is not at all shy, the intrusion of a man or dog in the field it frequents only having the effect of exciting its indignation. An imitation of its cry will attract all the individuals within hearing about a person, and any loud unusual sound, like the report of a gun, produces the same effect. When alarmed or angry it utters a loud hiss, and at times a shrill laugh-like cry. It also has a dismal scream, not often heard; and at twilight hoots, this part of its vocal performance sounding not unlike the distant baying of a mastiff or a bloodhound. It breeds on the ground, clearing a circular spot, and sometimes, but not often, lining it with a scanty bed of dry grass. The eggs are three or four, white, and nearly spherical.
The Short-eared Owl was formerly common everywhere on the pampas, where the coarse indigenous grasses afforded the shelter and conditions best suited to it. When in time this old rough vegetation gave place to the soft perishable grasses and clovers, accidentally introduced by European settlers, the Owl disappeared from the country, like the large Tinamou (Rhynchotis rufescens), the Red-bellied Finch (Embernagra platensis), and various other species; for the smooth level plains afforded it no shelter. Now, however, with the spread of cultivation, it has reappeared, and is once more becoming a common bird in the more thickly-settled districts.
Bubo virginianus, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 116; Scl. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 549 (Rio Negro); White, P. Z. S. 1883, p. 433 (Cordova); Barrows, Auk, 1884, p. 29 (Gualeguaychú). Bubo crassirostris, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 439 (Mendoza). Bubo magellanicus, d’Orb. Voy. Ois. p. 137; Salv. Ibis, 1880, p. 361 (Salta); Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 29.
Description.—Above dull tawny buff, more or less densely mottled with blackish brown; ear-tufts long, blackish, mixed with tawny buff; wings tawny buff, with about seven blackish cross bands; tail tawny buff, tipped with whitish, and with about seven blackish cross bands: beneath dull ochraceous buff, with dusky brown cross lines; throat-collar whitish: whole length 19·5 inches, wing 14·5, tail 8·5. Female similar, but rather larger.
Hab. North and South America.
This bird, eagle-like in its dimensions, and the largest of our Owls, is found throughout both Americas, though some authors, relying on certain trivial variations in size and colour, have separated the southern from the northern form, and called it Bubo magellanicus. In the Argentine Republic it is well known by its Indian name “Ñacurutú”; also in Paraguay according to Azara, who says:—“It pronounces its own name in tones which scare such as pass by night through the deep woods, which are its palaces.”
The habits of the Virginian Owl are too well known to need to be rewritten in this place: the ornithologists of North America have supplied several biographies of it, that by Audubon being specially familiar.
Scops brasilianus, Scl. et Salv. Nomencl. p. 117; White, P. Z. S. 1883, p. 41 (Cordova); Barrows, Auk, 1884, p. 29 (Entrerios); Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 108.
Description.—Above brown, vermiculated with darker brown, and spotted and streaked more or less distinctly with black; neck-collar lighter; wings dark brown, regularly barred across with sandy rufous; tail dark brown, with about ten regular cross bars of sandy rufous: beneath dirty white, washed with buff, densely crossed with narrow zigzag lines of blackish brown: whole length 9·5 inches, wing 6·2, tail 3·7. Female similar, but rather larger.
Hab. South America.
Azara and d’Orbigny have described the habits of this Owl, which is common in Paraguay and in the Argentine State of Corrientes, the name for it in both countries being Choliba. It is a bird of the woods, strictly nocturnal, lives in pairs, and spends the day in a thick-foliaged tree, the male and female sitting close together. At night it comes a great deal about houses, where it diligently explores every corner in search of cockroaches and other vermin, and in this way commends itself to the country people, who esteem it highly, and often keep it tame in their homes. Its hoot, described as sounding like tururú-tú-tú, is not unpleasant to the ear, and is a familiar sound to all who traverse the woody paths by night. It breeds in deep woods, and lays three white eggs in a hollow tree without any nest.
Barrows found it common in Corrientes along the wooded water-courses, and says it has a soft tremulous cry. He tells us there are two varieties of it in colour, red and grey, and gives Caburé as the native name.