332 BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



San Vicente, Uruguay, January 25 to February 2; Lazcano, Uru- 

 guay, February 3 to 9; Hio Negro, Uruguay, February 14 to 19; 

 Quilmes, Buenos Aires, June 27, 1920; Berazategui, Buenos Aires, 

 June 29 ; Dolores, Buenos Aires, October 21 and 22 ; Lavalle, Buenos 

 Aires, October 27 to November 15; Carhue, Buenos Aires, De- 

 cember 17; Guamini, Buenos Aires, March 4, 1921; Tunuyan, 

 Mendoza, March 23 to 29; Tapia, Tucuman, April 6 to 14; Tafi 

 Viejo, Tucuman, April 17. 



This large flycatcher, though found on the pampas, was more 

 common at the border of forests, along fence rows, or in open 

 brush. It was especially partial to water and was observed fre- 

 quently perched on limbs or rushes that overhung small streams 

 or marshes. It was observed often in parks in cities where tree 

 growth was extensive, and is one of the first of the native birds 

 to attract the attention of the traveler, its presence constantly ad- 

 vertised by its querulous notes. The birds usually watched for 

 prey from some open post, and on occasion, from their intent gaze 

 at the water, I suspected that they were on the lookout for small 

 fishes. Occasionally they hovered in the air like kingfishers or small 

 hawks, with the body suspended at an angle of 45° and rapidly 

 beating wings. They were solitary save during the breeding sea- 

 son, when they congregated in pairs. 



Their mating display, observed occasionally, was peculiar. The 

 individual giving it, stood bolt erect with the neck perpendicular, 

 threw the point of the bill down and exposed the flaring, colored 

 crest directly in front, while it shook the wings rapidly and made 

 a loud cracking sound with its bill. Nest building began in Oc- 

 tober, and during November their large nests, often with crudely 

 formed roofs, were seen on several occasions. Domed nests, common 

 among pampas inhabiting birds, apparently give protection from 

 predatory animals and shelter from the heavy storms of spring. 

 A young bird, recently from the nest, was shot at San Vicente, 

 Uruguay, January 25. 



Local names for this well-known species are given almost univer- 

 sally in imitation of its notes, as witness hien-te-veo in Spanish, pH- 

 o-giie in Guarani, and heht aow pah in Anguete. 



MYIODYNASTES SOLITARIUS (Vieillot) 



Tyrannus solitarius Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 35, 1819, p. SS. 

 (Paraguay.) 



The present species, seen only in Paraguay, in the region near 

 Puerto Pinasco, was migratory, and did not appear during spring 

 until September 20, when a male was shot near Kilometer 80, An- 

 other was recorded near the same point on September 21, one near 



