LITTLE BLACK RED-BACK 165 
LITTLE BLACK RED-BACK 
Centrites niger 
Intense black ; back, except the rump and scapularies, bright chest- 
nut-red ; length 5 inches. Female, above brown; back fulvous red ; 
tail black ; beneath ashy brown. 
THE little Red-backed Tyrant comes nearest to 
Muscisaxicola mentalis in habits, but does not perch 
on bushes and trees, and is less gregarious than that 
bird. It is the smallest of all those varied members 
of the Tyrannidez family which have abandoned 
forests and marshes and the pursuit of insects on 
the wing, to live on the wintry uplands of Pata- 
gonia, and on the sterile plains bordering on the 
Andes. 
The male is only five and a quarter inches long. 
The entire plumage of the male is intensely black, 
except the back, which is bright chestnut. The 
inside of the mouth and tongue are vivid orange- 
yellow. The chestnut colour on the female is pale, 
the rest of the plumage grey, except the quills, which 
are dark. 
Its summer home is in the southern portion of 
Patagonia, but its nesting-habits are not known. In 
March it migrates north, and is very common every- 
where on the pampas throughout the winter. They 
arrive in small parties of three or four, or in little 
loose flocks of about a dozen individuals, travelling 
with a swift, low flight. Males, females, and young, 
