Birds of Central Patagonia. 405 



appearance of the eggs of the Sandwich Tern, though of 

 course smaller ; and out of many hundreds I did not see two 

 alike. 



"^Larus dominicanus. 



Resident. A few seen near Lake Colguape. I found about 

 fifty pairs nesting on Tombo Point in December. They make 

 a large structure of grass and seaweed ; and most of the nests 

 contained two or three eggs. 



^Larus maculipennis. 



Resident. A few birds observed up the Sengel and about 

 the lake. 



Last year many pairs nested in the valley of the Chupat. 

 They chose some low swampy land, which had been flooded 

 for the purpose of growing wheat in 1876, and on which the 

 following year a thick growth of rushes had sprung up. The 

 nests were made of grass and weeds, and j)laced in the water. 

 I secured about a dozen eggs and one or two old birds. 



tEchmophorus major. 



Resident. Observed constantly in a large brackish lake 

 in the Chupat valley in September, and subsequently seen in 

 lagoons in the valleys of the Sengel and Sengelen, and in Lake 

 Colguape. 



■^PODICEPS CALIPAREUS. 



Resident, and commonly seen in lagoons in all the valleys. 

 Iris between crimson and scarlet ; beak dark horn-colour j 

 legs pale slate. 



Tachybaptes dominicus. 



Resident, and common in lagoons in the valleys of the Chu- 

 pat, the Sengelen, and the Sengel. 



■^NoTHURA FERDicARlAf- 



Resident. This species was wrongly named Nothura ma- 



t [Mr. Durnford lias uot sent specimens of this bird, which we have 

 little doubt is the '^ Perclix chico " of Mr. Hudson's paper on the birds of 

 the Rio Negro, Patagonia (P. Z. S. 1872, p. 547). At that time Sclater 

 determined this to be Nothura darwini, Gray, a species we now consider 

 identical with N. horaquira (Spix) (Nomencl. p. 15;^). — Edb.] 

 SER. IV. VOL. II, 2r 



