MARSH-TKOUPIALS. 



ching, clue-c/ice, urni," repeated at inteivals of two 

 or three minutes. In both utterances the first two 

 notes are somewhat metallic. 



Rku-hkaded Mkauow-Stabli.vu {Agdaus ruf"n--ai/Ulii<). 



Male similar to .1. frontalis, but blue-black; the 

 chestnut on head and throat browner, more restricted 

 un the latter. Female said to resemble the nuile, but 

 sure to have a weaker bill. Hab., Argentina and 

 Paraguay. 



Hudson (" Ar-gentine Ornithology," Vol. I., pp. 99, 

 100) observes: — "The be;iuty of the bird and its 

 delicate, plaintive voice would no doubt make it a 

 favourite with man if he saw more of it, only it lives 

 and breeds in marshes, and does not come near his 

 habitations. The Ked-heads are gregarious and migra- 

 tory. Tlie flock can scarcely be said to break up in the 

 breeding seaeon, a-s the birds all make their nests near 

 together in the reeds. The nest is placed ahout one 

 or two feet above the water, is about six inches in 

 depth, and made of leaves and aquatic grasses woven 

 together. The eggs are four, pointed, with a white or 

 pale bluish ground, and spotted with black at the larger 

 end. 



" The song of the Red-head is quite unique in charac- 

 ter. It begins with a low, hoUow-soanding note, then 

 t.ho voioe chimges to a clear, sorrowful tone, rising in 

 a rapid succession of short notes, and falling again 

 in longer ones. 



"After the breeding season the hirds fly aibout in 

 flocks of two or three hundred individuals, and sing 

 in concert on the trees. 



•■ Tlieir chii-p has a peculiar metallic .«ound, and can 

 be imitatid 'bv tapping on the edge of a copper bell with 

 the finger-nail." 



(Jraham Kerr tTJif Ihi.i. 1892, p. 127) says : — " Occa- 

 .sionally met with in flocks feeding amongst the tall 

 grass, "etc.. bv the edges of marshes." 



It is toleniblv certain thit dealers have confounded 

 this species with the preceding: it must have come in 

 m xed c-on?ignmfnts from La Plata. It has been ex- 

 hibited at the London Zoological Gardens. 



fELLOW Mbadow-Stabling (Agclmis Aavvs). 



Black above ; head, bend of wing, rump, and under 

 surface bright yellow ; bill and feet black. Female 

 above brown, sli^ditly streaked ; eyebrow-stripe, rimip, 

 and under surface yi-llowish ; bill and feet brown ; bill 

 shorter than in male. Hab., Paraguay, Uruguay, and 

 Argentina. 



Hudson says ("' Argentine Ornithology," Vol. I., pp. 

 98. 99) : '■ the dull-plumaged birds are always very 

 much more numerous than the bright-coloured males, 

 though Azara strangely asserts that the sexes are 

 alike. In Buenos Ayres, where it is called " Naranjo " 

 by the coimtrj- people, in allusion to its orange tints, 

 it" is very well known on account of its yellow plumage, 

 which I'ooks so wonderfully brilliiuit in the sunshine, 

 and its jiartiality for cultivated di.stricts, where it fol- 

 lows the plough" to pick up worms, and frequents the 

 orchard to sing, associating with the common Cony- 

 bird and Yellnw-breast. It remaiiLs all the year, and is 

 very sociable, going in flocks of from twenty to fifty 

 individuals, which, when they .settle on the trees, all 

 sing in concert, i>ouring out their few peculiar notes 

 wnth great power and emphasis. 



•'Even in the breeding .season these companies do not 

 .•Jways break np. and frequently several pairs have nests 

 ne;>r" together. Tlie nest is usually built in a cardooii 

 thistle, two or three feet above the" ground, and is made 

 of dry grass. The eggs are four, pointed, white or with 



a bluish tinge, and speckled irregularly with deep 

 brown, the spots being closer and sometime.s confluent 

 at the broad end." 



This bird first arrived at the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1873, and Kuss telia us that E. von Sehlech- 

 trndal became possessed of specimens in 1875, and 

 states that both males and females industriously and 

 joyfully repeated their d-iitt, dsitt, dszrrrrih. Prince 

 Ferdinand of Bulgaria acquired it in 1878, and Russ 

 himself received a male from Miss Hagenbeck and two 

 females from Messrs. Fockelmann in 1892. He con- 

 sidered them innocent birds, but very greedy for meal- 

 worms and all kinds of insects, snatching them away 

 from before the very bills of other birds, and especially 

 of the BulbuLs. 



Veh-ow-shoulderkd Marsh-Troupial (A<jtlaHicu$ 

 thUius). 



The adult male is blue-black, with the lesser wing- 

 coverts bright daffodil yellow, the bill and feet black, 

 the iris brown ; the female and young male are brown 

 streaked with black, the eyebrow white, beneath ashy 

 white streaked with black ; the female is smaller and 

 has a shorter bill than the male. Hab., S. Peru, Chili, 

 Paraguay, and Argentina. 



The Yellow-shouldered Troupial is gregarious, being 

 seen in flocks thioughout the year; and it feeds upon 

 the ground, upon insects and seeds of weeds. 



The nest is neatly made of dry grass, and is attached 

 to rushes growing in the water. The eggs are while, 

 spotted at the larger end with dull brown and black ; 

 they are four in number and pointed at the small end. 



The song is curiously like the sound made b.y an old 

 iron pum:|> — Chinkcr-on-king-tscKwee — the last note re- 

 presenting the rush of water ; but Hudson (who seems 

 to hear melody in the most ludicrous performances) 

 sa.ys that, though limited in its range, it is very sweet, 

 some of the notes being remarkable for their pui'ity and 

 expression. They ai'e undoubtedly " remarkable for 

 their expression " and for the expression which they 

 produce upon the faces of those who listen to them ; 

 but, as for the purity, if a Corn Bunting's zweezh is 

 pure, then this Troupial's tscJnvee (which lis probably a 

 foreign version of the same note) is entrancing. Like 

 its allies, it is imported from time to time in small 

 batches, and mot being a general favourite) is usually 

 obtainable at a moderate cost. 



I purchased a supposed pair of this bird in 1894, 

 but subsequently discovered that I had secured adult 

 and .young males ; one of these birds I exhibited later 

 on at the Crystal Palace. I ioxmd them very cunning, 

 dashing for the door when I renewed their food. They 

 walk and look like ti-ue Starlings, open their biUs wide 

 in the seed pan, scattering the grains far and wide, and 

 (unlike the iMilitaiy Troupials) they roost on a perch at 

 night. They require plenty of insects, soft food and 

 fruit may be given if they will eat it. I did not find 

 this a long-lived species, but I never tried it in an 

 aviiary. It ought to be easily captured in abundance, 

 yet it is not always cheap in the market, though I 

 "paid no excessive price for my specimens. It is a more 

 irraceful-looking bird than the more typical 'iMeadow- 

 Starlings of the genus Agehnis, and its more slender 

 bill I'ives it a greater resemblance to the Starlings of 

 the Old World. 



Fi.A.ME-.sHOULDERED Marsih-Troupial {Ageloslicus 

 Jiumeralis). 

 Male glossy-black ; wing-coverts ruddy yellowish- 

 brown, with a paler edging below ; back of thighs 

 partly yellow. Female rather smaller and more slen- 



