BIRDS OF. ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 123 



The type and one other specimen described by Peale® as Rallus 

 luridus from Orange Harbour, Tierra del Fuego, belong to the form 

 PardiraUus rytirhynchos sanguinolentus (Swainson)^ so that luridus 

 should be cited in the synonymy of that subspecies. Should Rallus 

 setosus named by King,^ it is presumed from the Straits of Magellan, 

 prove the same this name will antedate sanguinolentus. From the 

 description, however, it appears that setosus, like rytirhynchos, is 

 of the type with dark centers in the feathers of the dorsal surface. 



PardiraUus r. rytirhynchos was recorded at the following points: 

 Lavalle, Buenos Aires, October 29 to November 15, 1920; General 

 Roca, Hio Negro, December 3 ; Carhue, Buenos Aires, December 17 ; 

 Carrasco (near Montevideo), Uruguay, January 16, 1921; Lazcano, 

 Uruguay, February T and 8; Rio Negro, Uruguay, February 18; 

 Tunuyan, Mendoza, March 22 to 28. One recorded near Concon, 

 Chile, on April 26, that was not secured, is supposed to have been 

 PardiraUus r. sanguinolentus. 



PardiraUus during the summer season is a frequenter of rush or 

 grass-grown marshes in the pampas, or ranges through swamps or 

 along channels grown with low dense shrubber}^, particularly where 

 such growth stands in water. Though it resembles ordinary rails in 

 general habits it must swim well as it is found many times where the 

 water stands nearly a meter deep. When in its haunts one may 

 be startled by a solemn hollow-sounding repetition of notes, too too 

 too-oO'Oo, an odd, lugubrious call suggestive almost of the super- 

 natural, coming from the rushes almost at hand, although no sign 

 of the bird may be seen. If one retreats a short distance and waits 

 quietly a rail may run out to the edge of cover, but more often the 

 only sign of its presence is the hollow repetition of its calls. In fact, 

 for some time I was inclined to attribute these notes to a grebe as 

 they came from rushes that stood in fairly deep water. After the 

 breeding season the hollow notes are given less frequently, but a low, 

 grunting sound, suggestive of the protest of the tuco tuco {Ctenoviys) 

 in its underground chambers, may be heard, or a sudden gunshot 

 may startle the rails into emitting wheezing shrieks that are answered 

 and repeated from every side. All are strange sounds, not at all 

 birdlike in their nature, and so different in quality and tone as to 

 make it seem almost impossible that they come from the same bird. 



The brilliant colors of the bill are easily seen when the birds 

 venture into the open. They suggest Virginia rails as they v/ork 

 about with the tail cocked over the back and twitched at intervals. 

 At times deliberate in movement, again they traverse runs in the 



« U. S. Explor. Exped., vol. 8, 1848, p. 223. 



''Rallus sanguinolentus Swainson, Anim. Menag., 1838, p. 335, said to inhabit "Brazil 

 and Chili " ; type locality restricted to Chile by Chubb, Ibis, 1919. p. 51. 

 8Zo6I. Journ., vol. 4, April, 1828, p. 94. 



