PATAGONIAN SPINE-TAIL arg 
person approaches their hiding-place the two birds 
creep up to the summit of the sedges, protesting in 
peculiar, loud, angry, rattling notes. The Limnornis, 
which also pairs for life, has precisely the same habit. 
Durnford describes the nest, found in a rush-bed, 
as a circular or domed structure of grass, with the 
aperture at the side; the eggs white. 
PATAGONIAN SPINE-TAIL 
Synallaxis patagonica 
Above greyish earthy brown ; wing-feathers blackish brown, basal 
halves of secondaries very pale clear brown, forming a transverse 
band ; tail blackish, edged with greyish brown; outer web of outer 
feather on each side pale brown; beneath cinereous, with an obscure 
blackish spot on the throat; belly and flanks dull buff; under wing- 
coverts cinnamon; length 6 inches. 
Tuts dull-coloured little bird, which is found in 
Patagonia, and also near the Andes in the north- 
western provinces of the Argentine Republic, is one 
of those species which diverge greatly in habits from 
the typical Spine-tails. The body is stout, the tail, 
square and short, is carried vertically as in the House- 
Wren. | 
The Patagonian Spine-tail is a resident in the Rio 
Negro district. It is a silent, shy, solitary little bird, 
which lives on the ground and seeks its food after 
the manner of the Cachalote (Homorus). Being 
small and feeble, however, it does not hunt about 
the roots of trees and large bushes like the larger 
