130 BIRDS OF LS PLATA 
that when one becomes separated from his fellows 
he will unite with birds of another kind, even with 
Plovers or Tyrant-birds. 
On the great monotonous plains, where most of 
the small birds are grey- or brown-plumaged, and 
in winter when there are no flowers to satisfy the 
desire of the eye for bright colour, it is delightful 
while travelling to meet with an army of these 
Starlings: their crimson bosoms, less bright than 
the hues of some tropical species, seem then to glow 
with a strange splendour on the sombre green of 
earth, and the sight produces an exhilarating effect 
on the mind. 
CHESTNUT-SHOULDERED HANG-NEST 
Icterus pyrrhopterus 
Uniform black; upper lesser wing-coverts chestnut; length 7.7 
inches. Female similar but smaller. 
THIs interesting bird, the one member of the genus 
Icterus found in the Argentine, ranges south to 
Buenos Ayres, where it is migratory, and appears in 
small flocks of six or eight individuals in Septem- 
ber; but soon after arriving these little companies 
break up, and the birds are subsequently found singly 
or in pairs in the woods along the Plata River. 
The sexes are alike in colour, but the male is 
considerably larger; the whole plumage is an in- 
tense black, excepting a rufous spot on the shoulder 
