m the Chuput Valley, Patagonia. 35 



Upucerthia dumetoria. 



Not uncommon. On the T'tli November I took a nest 

 from the end of a hole in the bank of a dry lagoon near the 

 village. This nest was formed of grass, lined with fur of the 

 Patagonian cavy, and was placed about four feet from the 

 face of the bank. The eggs were three in number, white in 

 colour, much incubated, and measure I'l by '9 inch. 



Phlceocryptes melanops. 



Common in reed-beds, where I found it nesting, generally 

 two or three pairs in the same place. The nest is an oval 

 structure, from four to five inches in diameter, supported by 

 reeds, of the finer sprays of which it is formed, strengthened 

 with a little mud, and generally not more than eight inches 

 from the ground. I have found as many as five eggs in one 

 nest, though four is the usual number ; and they differ from 

 all other eggs of this genus I have seen in being of a uniform 

 glossy blue colour, instead of white. 



Synallaxis sordida. 



Synallaxis patagonica. 



Common everywhere. The nesting-habits of these two 

 species have puzzled me exceedingly. I will state the facts 

 as they occurred. On the 1st November I shot a female S. 

 patagonica from its nest, which was nearly circular in shape, 

 a small hole near the top communicating with the interior, 

 which was about twelve inches in diameter. The nest was 

 formed of sticks, and was a very large structure for so small 

 a bird ; it was lined with feathers and wool, and placed in the 

 centre of a thick bush. It contained three white eggs, mea- 

 suring '7 by '5 of an inch. In its immediate vicinity were 

 other nests of precisely the same character, the owners of 

 some of which I saw, and which were certainly S. patagonica. 

 Two eggs from one of these nests measured '8 by "6 of an 

 inch. On the 20th I flushed a S. patagonica from a nest in 

 a different locality. This nest was nearly round in shape, 

 and the interior reached by a narrow circular passage of 

 sticks attached to the top of the nest, from which it pro- 

 jected about twelve inches; the inside diameter was not more 



d2 



