LITTLE GROSBEAKS. 



145 



Female tmiform light brown ; paler, almost whitish on 

 th« vent. (Thorpe.) Hab., Brazil to Bolivia. 



" Widely distributed over tlio Campos i-egion in the 

 interior of Brazil, from St. Paulo up to Biihia, and 

 westward to the foot of the Cordilleras; lives in .small 

 companies in open spot.s, has a pleasant, melodious 

 voice, and is regarded by the Minciros, who call it 

 " Batetivo," as the best songster of the interior. I say 

 the bird alive in Congonhas, in the jjo.ssession of my 

 host, who regarded it as a great treasure ; as, however, 

 it wius its moulting sea.son, .md moreover winter, the 

 bird did not sing at all so long as I was able to 

 observe it." (Burmeist^r, " Syst. IJeb.," III., p. 243.) 



Mr. W. A. Forbes (The Ilm. 1881, p. 336) says that 

 the Brazilians call this species " Patitiva de Parahyba," 

 " and often pay considerable prices for good singers. 

 The song is loud for the snze of the bird, and rather 

 pretty, tho\igh monotnnou.s." I have discovered nothing 

 respecting tno nesting habits. 



Dr. Russ says that in the conr.se of time he has on 

 several oc<-'asion.s received a single male or female from 

 Mise Hagenbeck, but coadd make no observations 

 beyond the fact that the song was in no way remark- 

 able. It has been represented in the Lond(m Zoological 

 Gardens since 1870. 



There is not the least doubt that individual males 

 of any species of song bird do not sing equally well, 

 and Mr. Forbes' remark that " considerable prices are 

 given for good singers" of this bird shows that it is 

 nc exception to the rule ; therefore, as with Mr. 

 Farrar'e White-throated Finch, we must conclude that 

 Dr. Russ's Plumbeous Finches were poor performers, 

 and did not fairly represent the song of the species. 



EtTLER's Finch {Spermophila superciliaris). 



Above olive green ; wings, excepting the lesser 

 coverts and tail, dusky brown edged with olive; 

 median and greater wing-coverts, tipped with huffish 

 white; crown slightly darker than back; lore-s, a 

 narrow eye-brow stripe and eyelid yellowish white ; 

 ear -coverts olive brown, streaked with white; cheeks, 

 throat, and under-surface of body white ; sides, flanks, 

 and thighs olive brown ; under tail-coverts yellowish, 

 tinged with olive and brown at base ; under wing- 

 coverts and axiUaries white, edged with greenish 

 yellow ; flights below dusky, ashy-whiti.sh along 

 inner edge ; beak brownish horn-grey, under man- 

 dible paler ; feet brownish-grey ; irides dark bro\vn. 

 Female darker, the tips of median and greater 

 coverts bright buff ; edges of flights more rufescent ; 

 e.velid and lores greenish yellow ; ear -coverts and sides 

 of face dull olive ; throat greenish yellofw ; breast and 

 sides of body yellowish olive-brown ;' centre of abdomen 

 yellowish white ; under tail-coverts pale brown, yel- 

 lowish white at tips; beak blackish brown; feet black- 

 ish grey; irides brown. Hab., Brazil. 



Nothing appears to be known respecting the wild 

 life of this bird — indeed. Russ observes that up to 1874 

 it was not thoroughly known to students, and had nn 

 place in museums, whereas 'he had already received 

 two pairs from Miss Hagenbeck. and was able to 

 describe it in detail. Buss, however, was unaware tbat 

 S. culeri, described in 1874. was a synonym of 

 .S". xupercUiaris, described in 1869, and was therefore 

 known under the latter name. 



Although Russ considers the bird quite uninteresting, 

 he tells us that after the first pair had died, the second 

 built a great shapeless nest openly in a bu.sh in his 

 birdroom. and reared one young one, but he was unable 

 to study the breeding, as "at the time he was ill. His 

 hopes of a second brood were frustrated by a parrot 

 biting the male bird to death, and he was not able to 



replace it. He subsequentlv saw single examples in 

 the possession of wliolcsale (fcalers. 



This species also has been exhibited in the London 

 Zoological G.irdens. 

 Lavknder-backed Finch (Spermophila caslaneiventris). 



Above blue-grey ; wing and tail feathers, excepting 

 lesser coverts, blackish, edged with grey ; a .=mall white 

 spot at base of outer web of inner primaries ; head a 

 trifle deeper grey than the back ; a small wliite spot 

 at base of mandible ; throat, bre;ust, and abdomen deep 

 chestnut, with the sides, flanks, and thighs blue-grey; 

 under wiiig-coverts and axill.iries white, grey near edge 

 of wing ; flights below dusky, wliite towards bii«e of 

 inner web ; beak and feet brown ; irides dark brown. 

 Female, .ibove olive-brown, lower back and rump paler 

 and more rufescent; wing and tail feathers, excepting 

 les.ser coverts, dusky brown, with paler brown borders ; 

 lores, feathers round eye, ear-coverts, and body below 

 paler brown than that of upper surface ; the centre 

 of breast .and abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts 

 pale huffish ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, 

 tinged with greenish yellow; flights below dusky, 

 whitish along inner edge. Hab., Guiana and Colombia 

 to Lower Amazonia and Peru. (Sharpe.) 



Taczanowski gives no account of the wild life in his 

 " Ornithologie de Perou,"and I can find nothing respect- 

 ing it elsewhere. This is one of the more beautiful of 

 the species of Sprrmoplnla; it was first imiwrted by 

 Mr. p;. W. Harper in 1906, and he presented six ex- 

 amples to the London Zoological Gardens. Mr. C. T. 

 JIaxwell possesses a specimen ; Mr. W. T. Page, I 

 think, received a pair: and on November 25th, 1907, 

 Mr. Harper very kindly wrote offering me one as a 

 present, together with three other rarely imported 

 species; they arrived on the 28th. 



FiBE-RED Finch {Spermophila minula). 



Above brown, slightly olivaceous ; lower back and 

 rump chestnut; upper tail-coverts greyish olivaceous, 

 rufescent at edges ; wings, except lesser coverts, and tail 

 blackish-brown; the feathers with ashy, whitish or 

 j)ale brown margins; central tail-feathers somewhat 

 ashy; crown slightly rufescent on forehead; lores 

 du.sky, ear-coverts pale olive-brown, with paler shaft- 

 stripes ; cheeks with a small white spot at base, other- 

 wise chestnut like under surface of body ; thighs rather 

 browner; under wing-coverts ash.y, edged with whitish; 

 axillaries creamy white, slightly rufescent; flights 

 below blackish-brown, creamy- while along inner edge; 

 beak blackish, paler at base of lower mandible. 



Female earthy brown, slightly olivaceous ; wings 

 dark biown, excepting les.ser coverts ; bastard-wing, 

 median and greater coverts and secondaries bordered 

 with buff; primary-coverts and primaries edged with 

 olive-brown ; tail feathers dark brown edged with olive- 

 brown and with jiale tips; sides of head and under 

 surface pale bulfish brown ; the throat paler and some- 

 what ashy; sides, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts 

 bright buff ; centre of abdomen creamy buff ; under 

 wing-coverts and .axillaries bright buff, with ashy bases ; 

 flights below dusky, whitish on inner edge. Hab., 

 Panama, through Colombia and Venezuela to Guiana ; 

 Trinidad Tobago, Para. (Sharpe.) 



Mr. T. K. Salmon says (P.Z.S., 1879, p. 506): — 

 " Builds in low bushes much the same sort of nest as 

 S. gulluralis, but of coarser grass." The eggs, 

 described by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin. are said to be 

 " white, clearly marked with several shades of rich red- 

 brown spots : axis .65, diam. .51." 



This is all I can discover respecting the habits. 



Mr. E. W. Harper presented four specimens to the 

 London Zoological Gardens in 1906, and one to me in 



