Journey through Colombia and Ecuador. 473 



Fam. Fringillid^. 



129. Pheucticus chrysogaster (Less.). 



A good series of adult and immature birds was procured 

 from Quito and the Chillo Valley. They only come up to 

 Quito during the months of November^ December, and 

 January, when they do considerable damage in the gardens 

 to buds and young shoots^ which they appear to pull off the 

 trees out of pure wantonness. They feed largely on the seeds 

 of various acacias, both green and ripe. They have loud and 

 agreeable notes, and their flight is clumsy and short. They 

 frequent the Chillo Valley all the year round, and I often 

 saw a dozen or more together pecking about on the old stone 

 walls around the village of Pifo. I found one of their 

 nests at this place in October. It contained two young, and 

 was built on the lower branches of an acacia-tree. Immature 

 males and females always seemed to predominate in Quito, 

 and it was quite rare to see an adult male there. It is easy 

 to distinguish the young males from the females ; the latter, 

 for instance, are much darker on the breast, and have the 

 under tail-coverts pale cinnamon, whereas all the former 

 that we shot had them white. 



130. SpERMorniLA ophthalmica (Scl.). 



Very common at Santo Domingo in ctober, where 

 during the midday hours they assembled in large flocks on 

 the grass around the huts. Iris reddish. 



131. Spermophila gutturalis olivacea (Tacz. & Berl.). 

 SpermopMla gutturalis olivacea, Tacz. et Berl. P. Z. S. 



1885, p. 122. 



As common as the last species, and always found feeding 

 with it. If we fired into a flock we generally brought 

 down about equal numbers of both kinds. 



132. Catamblyrhynchus diadema Lafr. 



Three males from the vicinity of Mindo, West Ecuador, 

 about 7000 feet. We found them singly in the higher 

 trees, and never saw but these three. 



133. Paroaria gularis (Linn.). 



Not rai'e on the Napo near the mouth of the Coca, but not 



SER. Vm. VOL. I. 2 1 



