>rARSH BIKDS. 



13 



Republic, whence I imiK)ited a niiUe in 1893. Like 

 the Bobolinlv, it is a mii;ratory biixl, and in its method 

 •of nesting and the t-olouving of its eggs, of which, how- 

 ever, foul" seems to be the nornuil number, it seems 

 nearly to appruich that bird, as also in the rapid part 

 •of its song : excepting wlien paired, also, the males and 

 females travel in ciitferent small flocks. Hudson 

 describes the .song as follows: — "At intervals of two 

 or three minutes he soars vertically up to a height of 

 twenty or twenty-five yards to utter his song, com- 

 ,posed of a single long, pcnwerful, and rather musical 

 note, ending with an attempt at a flouri.sh, during which 

 the bird flutters and turns about in the air; then, as 

 if discouraged at his failure, he drops- down, emitting 

 liarsh guttural chirps, to resume his stand." 



The flourish described by Mr. Hudson consists of a 

 number <>f short, rapid, stopper-screwing, and' scissor- 

 grinding notes, which are anything but musical ; hap- 

 pily tliey do not last long. The be.st part of the song, 

 which I noted as mv bird .sang, was as follows : — 

 '• Tet^i'r-tir-c/ihi,/. trhi'r-iir-rliii„j. lik-kerichard : f!ie 

 ■rfiliiij was very metallic, as is the looin/lnoiii/ in the 

 song of the Bobolink. 



At first sight one would take this bird for a Military 

 Troupial, of which it is almost an exact copy, only the 

 form of the lie-ik is Weaver-like. 



When alarme<l in an aviary. I notice<l that both this 

 bird and the Military Starling crouched low down on the 

 ■earth, evidently trving ti. conceal the brilliant crimson 

 -on their throats and breasts. The Red-breasted Marsh- 

 bird .seems to be essentially a ground species, very rarel.v 

 perching, and onlv living up to sing or when suddenl.v 

 startled. • • - 



The Red-brf.a.sted Marsh-Bikd. 

 (Male in Winter Plumage.) 



\n a cage the Red-breasted ilarsh-bird is a misery to 

 himself and a source of ii'ritation to the owner, for he 

 IS the wildest and most nervous bird I ever had. In an 

 aviar.v, however, he is far happier, especially if supplied 

 with plenty of cockroaches, of which he is inordinately 

 fond. He should have the same seeds as the Bobolink. 



(;ri.\N.> M.\RSH iiiRn {Lri.flrs <jv'uiiicn>'l<]. 

 Male brownish-black: bend of wing and under-surface 

 of body to the middle of the abdomen scarlet. Female 

 above )xile brown, varied with black ; tail ashy-brown, 

 -with black transverse bands: below jwle brown; the 

 middle of breast and abdomen washed with scarlet ; 

 flanks, lower abdomen and vent streaked with black. 

 Hab., Veragua ami .soutlrward over Colombia. Vene- 

 zuela, Trinidad, riuiana, and Amiizonia. (P, L. Sclater.) 



Between the .rears 1879 and 1884 Mr. Henry Whitely 

 obtained this si>ecies on Mount Roraima at an elevation 

 of 3,500 feet {cf. Thr IhU. 1885 p. 218). 



Dr. Kmil A. Goeldi {The Ihl<. 1897. p. 164, says :— " In 

 tlie low campos-grass behind the 'sitio' I w;is much 

 pleased to meet with the splendid Leisles i/vianensis. 

 with its bright crimson breast-cloth ; it is called " Tem- 

 tem do Espirito santo " or " Policia Ingleza," alike, over 

 all Lower Amazonia." 



Mr. W. L. S. Loat {The Ibis, 1898, p. 562) observes : — 

 "The 'Robin' iLeigles yviaiicnsii^} is common in the 

 fields and pastures of the colonv. It has a peculiar 

 habit of flying up into the air to the height of about 

 twenty-five feet ; then, drawing its wings close to its 

 side, it shoots obliquel.y downward, uttering a loud, 

 chirping kind of song, whether done from exuberance 

 of spirits or to charm its mate, which is generally some- 

 where near, I cannot say. The crimson breast of an 

 adult male is of a must beautiful tint, and is well shown 

 when he performs this aerial movement. " 



Tliat is all that I can discover respecting the wild life, 

 but it probably corresix)nds pretty closely with that of 

 L. ■■'iipcrrilirirly. which has been very fully described by 

 Mr. Hud.son in the "Argentine Ornithology." 



Mr. E. W. Harper imported specimens of this s{>eci©s 

 in 1906, and presented t«o to the London Zoological 

 Society ; a third became the propert.y of Jfr. W. T. 

 Page, and there were proibabl.y others. These specimens 

 were spoken of under the same trivial name as the 

 Argentine bird, which is confusing ; I have therefore 

 omitted the w(.rds Red-breasted, and included the word 

 Guiana. (In the Zoological Society's List the name 

 stands "Red-breasted Guiana Marsh-bird," which is 

 too long.) 



YeLLOW-HK.\T)ED M.^KSH-JIIRD iX il lllllnr, /,/ial US 



xa nth ore /jh al us ) . * 



Black ; a con-'^ijicuoiis white patch on the upper wing- 

 coverts ; head all round, fore-neck and breast, orange- 

 yellow ; lores, orbital region, front of cheeks and chin, 

 black ; anal tuft yellow ; irides brown ; whole length 

 9 inches. Female much smaller ; sooty-brown : no white 

 wing patch ; the .vellow on head duller huffish , and con- 

 fined to the e.yebrow, sides of head and breast, the 

 latter more ochraceous ; chin and throat whitish, orange 

 behind ; breast mottle<l bro\niish. veUow at sides ; chest 

 and abdomen brown, streaked with whitish : anal tuft 

 .yellowish ; bill smaller and more slender ; irides brown. 

 "Hab., Prairies of North America, from California and 

 the Saskatchewan down to Southern Mexico " (P. L. 

 Sclater). "Florida, Cuba, and even to Greenland." 

 (Ridgway.) 



J. G. Cooper observes (" Ornithology of California," 

 p. 269) : " They associate in flocks with the other' Black- 

 birds, but also keep in separate bands, and fly with 

 such regularity that their yellow heads often show all 

 at once as they wheel in their aerial evolutions. Some- 

 times also the sexes fly in sepaiate flocks before the 

 pairing season. They are very gi'egarious even in epring 

 and summer, and seem to build in company. The only 

 6ong the imale attempts consists of a few hoarse, 

 chuckling notes and comical squeakings, uttered as if 

 with a great effort to make any noise at all. Though 

 some kept about the marsh at Santa Barbara, in which 

 were the nests of the Red-wings, I coidd not find theirs. 

 According to Heermaun, the nest is comiposed of dry 

 reeds and grasses, attached to the upright stalks of 



^ This is the na-me first given to the species, and Professor 

 Kid^way has rightly restoreci it; Dr. Sclater disapproval of the 

 duplication and called the species lotiffipes. 



