Homorus observed in the Argenti7ie Republic. 285 



rulCj builders of big nests and very noisy ; H. gutturalis is, I 

 believe^ the loudest screamer and greatest builder of the 

 family. Male and female live together in the same locality 

 all the year ; the young, when able to fly, remain with tbeir 

 parents till the breeding-season, so that the birds are found 

 occasionally in pairs, but more frequently in famiUes of five or 

 six individuals. When feeding they scatter themselves about, 

 each bird attaching itself to a large bush, scraping and prodding 

 for insects about the roots ; and at intervals one of the old 

 birds, ascending a bush, summons the others with loud shrill 

 cries, on which they all hurry to the place of meeting, and 

 from the summits of the bushes burst forth in a piercing 

 chorus, which sounds at a distance like screams of hysterical 

 laughter. At one place, where I spent some months, there 

 were some bushes over a mile and a quarter from the house 

 I lived in, where these birds used to hold frequent meetings, 

 and in that still atmosphere I could distinctly hear their 

 extravagant cries at that distance. After each performance 

 they pursue each other, passing from bush to bush with a 

 wild jerky flight, and uttering harsh angry notes. 



They select a low, strong, wide- spreading bush to build in ; 

 the nest, which is made of stout sticks, is perfectly spherical 

 and four to five feet deep, the chamber inside being very 

 large. The opening is at the side near the top, and is ap- 

 proached by a narrow arched gallery, neatly made of slender 

 sticks resting along a horizontal branch, and about fourteen 

 inches long. This peculiar entrance, no doubt, prevents the 

 intrusion of snakes and small mammals. So strongly made 

 is the nest that I have stood on the dome of one and stamped 

 on it with my foot without injuring it in the least, and to 

 demolish one I had to force my gun-barrel into it, then prize 

 it up by portions. I examined about a dozen of these 

 enormous structures, but they were all found before or after 

 the laying-season, so that I did not see the eggs. 



I wish to notice here the ajjparent relationship to Homorus 

 of a species belonging to a different genus, I mean Synal- 

 laxis patagonica (D^Orb. Voy. p. 249; see also P. Z. S. 1872, 

 p. 544) . Its nearest allies appear to be S. sordida and S. 



