: Argentine Ornithology, Volume I (of 2), P. L Sclater, W. H Hudson [best authors to read txt] 📗

Nomencl._ p. 31; _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 599

      (Catamarca).

 

    _Description._--Above, head all round, neck, and wing-coverts grey;

    back and upper tail-coverts olive-green; wings and tail black;

    beneath, throat grey, breast and belly yellow, washed with olive;

    crissum and under tail-coverts white; bill and feet black: whole

    length 6·0 inches, wing 3·5, tail 2·3. _Female_: above obscure

    olive-green, below yellow.

 

_Hab._ Chili and Western Argentina.

 

Burmeister says that this Chilian species is found in the valleys of the

Sierras near Mendoza.

67. PHRYGILUS CANICEPS (Burm.). (GREY-HEADED FINCH.)

 

+Phrygilus caniceps+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487; _Durnford,

      Ibis_, 1878, p. 393 (Chupat); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._

      viii. p. 130 (Sierra de la Ventana).

 

    _Description._--Above, head, neck, wing- and upper tail-coverts grey;

    back olivaceous yellow, washed with red; wing and tail-feathers

    black, edged with grey; beneath, throat grey, breast and belly

    orange-yellow; crissum and under tail-coverts white; bill

    horn-colour; feet light brown: whole length 6·8 inches, wing 3·6,

    tail 2·9.

 

_Hab._ Argentina.

 

Of this species, discovered by Dr. Burmeister near Mendoza, Mr. Barrows

writes:--"Only met with on the Sierra de la Ventana, where it was

abundant in flocks, some of which numbered as many as a hundred

individuals. When found near the base of the sierra they were almost

always associated with the common _Zonotrichia_. Although most of them

had not finished moulting, they were constantly singing, and seemed

perfectly contented with their desolate surroundings."

68. PHRYGILUS DORSALIS, Cab. (RED-BACKED FINCH.)

 

+Phrygilus dorsalis+, _Cab. Journ. f. Orn._ 1883, p. 109.

 

    _Description._--Ashy grey; back rusty red; wing-coverts blackish;

    chin, lower belly, and crissum whitish: whole length 6·5 inches,

    wing 3·7, tail 2·6.

 

_Hab._ Tucuman.

 

Schulz discovered this species on the Cerro Vayo of Tucuman, near the

snow-line. It reminds one of the North-American species of _Junco_ in

its coloration.

69. PHRYGILUS UNICOLOR (d'Orb. et Lafr.). (SLATY FINCH.)

 

+Phrygilus unicolor+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Cab. J. f. O._

      1878, p. 195 (Cordova). +Phrygilus rusticus+, _Burm. La-Plata

      Reise_, ii. p. 487 (Mendoza).

 

    _Description._--Above nearly uniform slaty grey, below paler, whiter

    on the middle of the belly; bill dark horn-colour, feet clear brown:

    whole length 6·0 inches, wing 3·6, tail 2·6. _Female_ cinereous,

    with blackish shaft-spots above and below; paler on the middle of

    the belly.

 

_Hab._ Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Chili, Bolivia, and

Northern Argentina.

70. PHRYGILUS FRUTICETI (Kittl.). (MOURNING FINCH.)

 

+Phrygilus fruticeti+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii, p. 487 (Cordillera

      of Mendoza); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _Hudson, P. Z. S._

      1872, p. 537 (Rio Negro); _Durnford, Ibis_, 1878, p. 393

      (Chupat); _Döring, Exp. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 39 (R. Colorado,

Negro). +Emberiza luctuosa+, _Eyd. et Gerv. Mag. de Zool._,

      1836, _Ois_, pl. 72.

 

    _Description._--Grey, with minute black markings on the head and

    neck, and broader stripes on the back; greater coverts and wings

    black, the feathers edged with grey, and a band of white spots

    across the coverts; tail black; beneath, throat, and upper part of

    breast black, many feathers tipped with grey, giving the chest a

    mottled appearance; lower part of breast and belly grey, mottled

    below the chest with a few black spots; centre of abdomen and under

    tail-coverts white; beak yellow; feet flesh-colour: total length 7·3

    inches, wing 4·0, tail 3·2. _Female_ obscure grey and without the

    black colour on the throat and chest.

 

_Hab._ Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and Argentine Republic.

 

This Finch is common on the western slopes of the Andes as far north as

Peru; it is also found in the Mendoza district and throughout Patagonia.

It is very abundant on the Rio Negro, especially in the immediate

neighbourhood of the Carmen settlements, for, like the Chingolo and

other fringilline species, it is beneficially affected by cultivation.

Though not possessing any bright tints, it is a very charming bird,

tuneful, elegant in form, graceful and buoyant in its motions. When

approached it utters a series of low ticking sounds, and at intervals a

peculiar long squealing note. The song of the male is very agreeable,

and curiously resembles that of the Cachila Pipit (_Anthus correndera_).

It usually sits on a twig near the ground, and at intervals soars up

to a height of ten or twenty yards, and utters its song while gliding

slowly downwards with depressed wings and outspread tail. It sings

throughout the year; in bright weather its notes are heard all day long,

but on cold, cloudy, or wet days only after sunset. In the warm season

they live in pairs, and in the autumn unite in flocks of as many as two

or three hundred individuals, and have a strong undulating flight.

71. PHRYGILUS CARBONARIUS (d'Orb. et Lafr.). (BLACKISH FINCH.)

 

+Phrygilus carbonarius+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 487; _Döring,

      Expl. al Rio Negro, Zool._ p. 38.

 

    _Description._--Above grey, with brownish-black stripes; wings dusky

    brown; tail-feathers black; below black, with minute grey marks on

    the throat and bosom; sides dull grey: total length 5·5 inches, wing

    2·9, tail 2·2.

 

_Hab._ Bolivia, Argentina, and Patagonia.

 

This species is said to be about one third less than _Phrygilus

fruticeti_ in size, but to resemble it closely in colour. Dr. Döring

found it abundant in Patagonia between the rivers Colorado and Negro,

where it was seen during the cold season in flocks, associating with

_Zonotrichia canicapilla_. Burmeister met with it in the Sierra de

Uspallata, near Mendoza.

72. GUBERNATRIX CRISTATELLA (Vieill.). (YELLOW CARDINAL.)

 

+Gubernatrix cristatella+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 482

      (Paraná); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31; _White, P. Z. S._ 1883,

38 (Cordova); _Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 130

      (Concepcion, Entrerios).

 

    _Description._--Above light olive-green, the back marked with a few

    black stripes; four middle tail-feathers black, edged with olive,

    all the rest of the tail-feathers bright yellow, tipped with dull

    olive; broad superciliaries and lower part of the head bright

    yellow; crown, crest, and throat velvet-black, the black extending

    to the chest; beneath yellow, washed with olive-green on the breast

    and sides; bill and feet black: total length 8·0 inches, wing 3·8,

    tail 3·7. _Female_ less brightly coloured; white on the head where

    the male is yellow; breast grey.

 

_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentine Republic.

 

The Yellow Cardinal is a graceful sprightly bird, with a strong

melodious voice, and is one of our favourite cage-birds. It visits

Buenos Ayres in small flocks in spring, but is a rare bird with us.

There is little variety in its song, which is composed of four or five

mellow notes of great power, and in tone somewhat like the whistle of

the Blackbird of Europe.

73. DIUCA GRISEA (Less.). (DIUCA FINCH.)

 

+Diuca vera+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 483 (Mendoza). +Diuca

      grisea+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 31.

 

    _Description._--Above grey, sides of head darker; wings and tail

    blackish, edged with grey; lateral rectrices tipped with white;

    below grey, whole chin and throat and middle of the belly white;

    lower flanks and crissum stained with rufous; bill plumbeous; feet

    dark hazel: whole length 6·3 inches, wing 3·3, tail 2·6. _Female_

    similar, but tinged with brownish, and colours more obscure.

 

_Hab._ Chili and Western Argentina.

 

This well-known Chilian species is said by Burmeister to be not

unfrequent near Mendoza and along the range of the Cordilleras.