736 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS: ZOOLOGY. 



The male has an absolute moustacial patch of dull brown with scattered 

 scarlet feathers mixed through it. 



Geographical Range. — Western Patagonia ; head waters of the larger 

 Patagonian rivers, Rio Negro, etc. 



The Primrose-shafted Flicker was found by the naturalists in the Cor- 

 dillera at the head waters of the Rio Chico de Santa Cruz, as a common 

 bird and noted daily. This was in February and March 1897 and the 

 birds sent from this region then are in unworn fine plumage, showing no 

 signs from the feathers of having recently nested; in fact they appear to 

 have but just completed a moult. A pair of birds from the Rio Negro, 

 collected by the naturalists in the employ of the Museo de La Plata and 

 now in the Princeton collection, are very worn as to plumage and betray 

 every mark of parental cares. The breeding season it would seem is early 

 in the spring, November and December, and probably but one brood is 

 reared. 



That the birds are in habits very similar to their congeners in both 

 North and South America is apparent from the subjoined account of Mr. 

 Lane, who has had ample opportunity to become acquainted with the live 

 birds and who gives a graphic sketch of their methods of life. 



A. A. Lane says^ of this woodpecker: "This is a common species all 

 through the south of Chili. I observed it in the provinces of Arauco and 

 Valdivia, and also in Chiloe, at Puerto Montt. It is known generally as 

 the 'Pitigiie,' a name taken from the note of the bird. 



"The sexes so closely resemble each other that it would be impossible 

 to distinguish them at any distance ; they are, so far as I could ascertain, 

 also similar in size. They are invariably met with in pairs, seldom, if 

 ever, singly ; sometimes two or three pairs go in company. 



"The birds are specially plentiful on the margin of the forest or 

 pioneer stations, where the ground has been cleared by burning. In this 

 operation the charred trunks of the large trees are left standing a long 

 time before the land is properly cleared by advancing civilization, and on 

 such trees the 'Pitigiies' appear to find abundance of sustenance, as 

 their loud though discordant cry is frequently heard. They often call 

 out on being approached, thus betraying their presence. I frequently 

 observed them feeding on the ground, on the grassy plots, especially if 

 there were logs lying there. They proceed by creeping or going at an 



'Ibis, pp. 47-48, 1897. 



