VII PHYTOTOMIDAE DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 483 



in damp, sunless caves, laying two buff eggs with reddish-brown 

 and lilac spots ; Pyroderus orenocensis deposits similar eggs on 

 platforms of sticks placed in tree -forks ; Tityra semifasciata 

 lines holes in decayed limbs with dry grass to receive its white 

 eggs ; Hadrostomus niger, H. Jiomochrous, and some species of 

 Fachyrhamphus, hang big nests of such materials as leaves, 

 plant-stalks and wool, with side entrances, from low branches ; 

 the two to four eggs, where known, being chocolate, faintly 

 marked or unspotted ; Fhihalura fixes a cup of lichens in 

 the crotch of a large tree, laying twice annually two greenish- 

 blue eggs with neutral markings ; Cephcdopterus is said to make 

 a rough nest of sticks ; and Fipreola riefferi to deposit pale 

 salmon-coloured eggs, sparingly spotted with reddish-brown. 



Fam. VIII. Phytotomidae. — The Plant-cutters constitute a 

 single genus Fhytutoma, of four Finch-like species, having strongly 

 serrated bills and pycnaspidean (p. 479) metatarsi. The primaries 

 number ten, the secondaries nine, the rectrices twelve. F. vara of 

 Chili is brown and black, with red crown and lower surface, white 

 margins to the wing-coverts, and red-banded lateral tail-feathers ; 

 the female has yellowish-brown under parts streaked with black, 

 and a brown crown. F. raimondii of North-West Peru is some- 

 what like, but has only a narrow red frontlet ; F. angustirostris 

 of Bolivia is greyer, with white on the secondaries and tail, and 

 a browner breast ; the hen being chiefly greyish, with black stria- 

 tions above and spots below ; F. o-utila of Argentina and North 

 Patagonia is very similar. Flocks or pairs of Plant-eaters are 

 found in dry open situations, the former often consisting solely 

 of the comparatively unsuspicious males ; they sit aloft on bushes, 

 but hide when alarmed. The flight is whirring with sudden 

 short undulations; the food consists of seeds and other fruits, 

 tender shoots, buds and leaves ; while the voice is decidedly 

 harsh, the alarm-note of the male resembles the bleating of a kid, 

 and the female's cry is cricket-like. The slight, shallow nest of 

 twigs and fibres is placed in thick bushes, and contains four 

 bluish-green eggs, flecked with brown. The birds are said to 

 cut plants off close to the ground without apparent object. 



The four Families that follow are often classed as Tracheo- 

 phonae, and have loud voices owing to their tracheal syrinx (p. 22). 



Fam. IX. Dendrocolaptidae. — This group, with over 200 

 species, occupies the Neotropical liegion, excluding the Antilles, 



