FINCHES. 



131 



white pateh at end of inner web; crown uniform dull 

 yellow ; lores dusky ; orbital region yellow ; ear-coverts 

 olive yellow ; cheeks and under eurtace bright yellow, 

 slightly greener on lower throat, sides, and tlajiks ; 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries olive-yellow, dusky 

 at base; flights below dusky, with ashy inner edges, 

 lemale browner ; the whole upper eurface streaked with 

 black; rump paler and more olivaceous; wing-feathers 

 with ashy borders ; sides of head uniform brown ; body 

 below sulphur yellow, whiter on throat ; chest and 

 flanks browner streaked with blackish. Hab., Brazil, 

 Guiana, and Colombia. 



So far as 1 have been able to discover, very little 

 eeems to be known respecting the habits of i'neudo- 

 cKloris ; one species (/'. tutea) is said to feed upon seeds 

 and buds, but that is the only information that 1 have 

 gleaned from many books: The genus used to be con- 

 founded with Sycalif. 



Two specimens of this bird, from Venezuela, were 

 presented to the Loudon Zoological Society by Capt. 

 Albert I'am in >ovember, 1906. 



Gay's Finch {Phri/gilus gayi). 



Mantle and uppar back orange brown, scapulars yel- 

 lower, suffused with greenieh externally ; lower back 

 ,ind rump clear yellow ; lesser wingcoverts dark green- 

 ish-grey, median and greater coverts clear slate- 

 grey, as also the upper tail-coverts; other wing aud 

 tail" feathers blackish with slate-grey outer margins ; 

 back and sides of neck olive-greemsh ; a narrow frontal 

 line, lores, and orbital feathers slate blackish ; ear- 

 coverts, cheeks, and throat paler and more pearly grey; 

 rest of under surface bright yellow slightly olivaceous 

 below throat and rather p.*Ier on lower breast and 

 abdomen ; thighs slate-grey ; under tail-coverts gene- 

 rally white, the longer ones however with slate-grey 

 centres ; under wing-coverts white and axillaries paJe 

 yellow, both with ashy bases ; flights below dusky, with 

 "whitish inner edges ; beak lead-coloured^ feet brown, 

 iridcs red to bla<:k. Female altogether paler, the flanks 

 ashy-browni. Habitit, Chili, Patagonia, and Argentina. 

 Of specimens of this species obtained on the " Chal- 

 lenger " Expedition, the stomachs were said to contain 

 sand and grubs. tVide P.Z.S., 1878. p. 432.) 



Mr. A. A. Lane (The IbL", 1897, pp. 16, 17) says: — 

 " I did not observe these Finches until I went to the 

 province of Arauco, north of which they do not occur 

 on the lowlands ; at least, so I was told. They are 

 more plentiful in the south, especially in Chiloe, and 

 CD the adjacent mainland. Their local name is ' Chan- 

 chito' (' Little pig '). 



" They resemble P. atricepi verv closely, and might 

 be mistaken for them by a casual observer. P. alrictps 

 is somewhat larger, and dts deep black head distin- 

 guishes it. this part bedng in P. gayi of a dark slate- 

 oolour. Even their notes appear identical, though I 

 heard the male of P. gayi utter a simple melody on a 

 few occasions during suimmer, which performance I did 

 not notice in the other species. In Southern Chili the 

 present species feeds a great deal on the ground under- 

 neath bushes. 



"The favourite haunts of thefe birds are the sides of 

 ravines or abrupt hollows, covered with thick bush of 

 a seed-bearing nature, and small cliffs covered with 

 creepers. They do not occur on open stretches, but aie 

 often numerous in partially cleared localities, where 

 conpice has taken the place of the large timber pre- 

 viou.'ly cut down or burnt. I never could find their 

 nests. I frequently saw them in confinement, in aviarie.'^. 

 When crnssint: the Andes, from Santiago to Mcndoza. I 

 found this bird numerous on the Argentine side, where 

 it feeds on the ground on the barren mountain-slopes."' 



According to Landbeck, the call-note is tchVp, and t-he 

 song ttet iwcty often repeated. (See also Crawshay. 

 " Birds of Tierra del Fuego.") 



This pretty species has been exhibited at the London 

 Zoological Gardens. 



Obchabd Fisch {PhrygHus fruticeli). 



General colour s!ate-gTcy ; the crown, nape, mantle, 

 and back streaked with black; lump and upper tail- 

 coverts paler grey, the latter with shall streaks and tips 

 black; les.ser wing-coverts black, edged with pale grey ; 

 median coverts black, tne distal hall of the outer web 

 white ; greater coverts black, narrowly edged with, 

 pale grey and tipped with white ; remainder o; 

 wing-feathers and tail-feathers black, narrowly edged 

 with pale grey; eyelids white; forehead, lores, 

 chin, throat, and breast black; sides of body, 

 flanks, and thighs slate-grey; centre of abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts white, the latter somewhat buffish. 

 with narrow black shaft-streaks; a-xillaries slate-grey; 

 under wing-coverts blackish with .^Lite-grey edges ; beak 

 yellowish flesh-colour; feet brownish fiesh-colour ; irides 

 dark hazel. Female with head, neck, and back dull 

 grey, washed with brownish and streaked with dark 

 brown ; rump and upper tail-coverts pale greyish- 

 brown ; scapulars like the mantle, but edged with 

 rufous; lesser wing-coverts grev ; median coverts dark 

 brown with distal half of outer web white : greater 

 coverts duskv, edged with bufGsh-grey and with tips of 

 outer webs diill white ; flights dull brown, with ashy- 

 brownish edges ; tail blackish-brown, the outer and two- 

 central feathers paler; tips of first to fourth feathers 

 whitish, as well as the base of the outer webs ; eye'jrow- 

 stripe, lores, cbeeks, chin, and throat whitish, blackish 

 at base of feathers: ear-coverts rufescent: malar .«treak. 

 breast, sides and flanks dusky greyish-brown with fine 

 brown streaks ; flanks and under tail-coverts huffish : 

 centre of breast and abdomen white ; axillaries and 

 under wing-coverts ashy ; under surface of flights 

 brownish ; beak brown, paler on lower mandible ; feet 

 brownish fle.sh coloured ; irides brown. Habitat. 

 Andes of Cliili and Patagonia, extending to Peru and 

 Bolivia. 



Mr. W. H. Hudson ("Argentine Ornithology," Vol. L, 

 p. 54) observes : — " Though not possessing any bright 

 tints, it is a very charming bird, tuneful, elegant in 

 form, graceful and buoyant in its motions. When ap- 

 proached it utters a series of low ticking sounds, and at 

 intervals a peculiar long squealing note. The song of 

 the male is very agreeable, and curiously resembles that 

 of the Cachila Pinit (AnlJiKu correndera). It usually 

 sits on a twig near the ground, and at intervals soars 

 up to a height of ten or twentv yards, and utters its 

 song while gliding slowly downwards with depressed 

 wings and outspread tail. It sings tbroughout the 

 year ; in bright weather its notes are heard all day 

 long, but on cold, cloudv, or wet davs only after sunset. 

 In the wai-m season they live in pairs, and in the 

 autumn unite in flocks of as many as two or three hun- 

 dred individuals, and have a strong undulating flight. 



E. Bartlett f Monogr. Weavers and Finches ") quotes 

 the following note by Mr. H. Durnford : — " Co.iimon at 

 Chupat throughout the spring and summer, and often 

 seen during our journey in the valleys : it never wanders 

 far from water. On the 20th September I took a nest 

 on the hill? near the colony : it was a very neat structure 

 of wool, feathers, and the flowers of a grass, and placed 

 in the centre of a thick bush, about a foot above the 

 ground. It contained two eggs, of a pale green ground- 

 colour, thickly marked with" dull chocolate spots and 

 streaks." 



The food, according to Prof. W. Xation fcf. P.Z.S., 



