158 Mr. H. Durnford's Notes from the 



lieve, of the country, and useful for nothing but to keep off 

 the rays of the sun. 



MOTACILLID.^. 



Anthus rufus is very common, occasionally perching on 

 trees, bushes, &c. In its flight it circles upwards, like our 

 Sky-Lark, its voice, however, being far inferior to the song of 

 that bird. On September 28th a friend of mine took three 

 fresh eggs from a nest of grass lined with hair; and on Oc- 

 tober 5th I took three slightly incubated eggs from a nest 

 made entirely of cow^s hair. 



INIniotiltidjE. 



A single specimen of Parula pitiayumi is the only member 

 of this family I have yet met with. It came so close to me 

 that I knocked it over with my stick. 



HiRUNDINIDiE. 



Progne purpurea was first seen on September 22nd; by 

 October 13th it was common. On April 3rd I saw a specimen 

 of Hirundo leucorrhoa flying over the island of Flores, to the 

 east of Buenos Ayres; and on August 10th I observed others 

 at Belgrano ; from the latter date to the 18th they appeared 

 sparingly, the w eather being cloudy and unsettled ; by Oc- 

 tober 9th they were busily engaged in building their nests, and 

 were very abundant. I often observe birds of this species 

 clinging to the trunks of large willow trees which are full of 

 holes; they also perch on twigs just outside the holes; and 

 once I saw one sitting on the edge of a large opening in a 

 branch. On October 3rd I saw two pairs of Atticora cyano- 

 leuca frequenting some holes in a sand-pit near Flores ; as 

 they often returned to the pit, and clung to the face of its 

 perpendicular sides, I think they had nests near. I thrust 

 the whole length of my walking-stick into two or three of the 

 holes, without touching the end of any of them. I am told 

 this Swallow remains the whole year near Buenos Ayres ; and 

 a friend assures me that he once shot one when Duck-shooting 

 in the winter. 



FaiXGlLLIDiE. 



^onotrichia pileata, the Sparrow of this country, is very 



