145 



The Marsh Finch. 

 17. 6". palustris. 



Adult male : The head and back are clear bluish 

 grey ; the under surface to middle of breast is pure 

 white, which is also the colour of the sides of the 

 neck and ear-coverts ; remainder of under surface, 

 rump and upper tail-coverts, ruddy-chestnut ; wings 

 and tail, blackish brown edged with whitish ; inner 

 secondaries black, tipped and broadly edged with 

 white ; base of primaries, white ; beak, legs and feet, 

 black. Total length \\ in., tail if in. 



The adult female resembles the male as to wings 

 and tail, but lacks the lustre of the male. She is 

 greenish-olive above, lightly streaked with earthy- 

 brown ; below, light buff with a yellowish tinge. 



Habitat: Argentina. 



The Reddish Finch. 

 18. 6". nigroaurayitia. 



This small and pretty species is one of the most 

 pleasing if not the most handsome of the SperviophilcB. 

 It is a sweet singer, but the song is not very sustained. 

 It is amiable and ought to be in every collection of 

 small birds. Unfortunately all this genus, with one 

 or two exceptions, are rare, probably because they are 

 not often asked for, their attractive qualities not being 

 entirely on the surface. 



Adult male : Its principal colour is cinnamon, 

 with a sandy tinge ; top of head, black ; wing-feathers 

 blackish, edged with ashy, ruddy-grey and whitish ; 

 the bases of the primaries are white, forming a fairly 

 large white patch ; upper tail-coverts black, tipped 

 with brown ; tail feathers black, margined and tipped 



