j^S PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS: ZOOLOGY. 



8.50 inches; wing, 3.40; culmen, .50; tail, 3.70; tarsus, 1.15. Feathers 

 of the crown and occiput prolonged into a crest. Entire head, crest, sides 

 of face and ear coverts rufescent brown, each feather with a conspicuous 

 white shaft line, those on the crest feathers, especially the anterior ones, 

 narrowly edged with dark brown ; chin, throat, breast and middle of ab- 

 domen grayish white, ashy gray on the sides of the breast with a large 

 chestnut patch on each side almost meeting across the abdomen ; back 

 and upper surface of wings and tail olive brown (Saccordo olive of Ridg- 

 way), tail with a terminal dull black band about an inch broad; thighs 

 under tail coverts darker olive brown, crissum tinged with chestnut. 



Female said to be similar. 



Geogmphical Range. — Northern Patagonia and Argentine Republic 

 north to Catamarca and reported from southern Brazil. 



This notable bird does not, so far as known, occur in the part of Pata- 

 gonia explored by the Princeton Expeditions. Darwin in his travels says 

 he only met with it on the Rio Negro and it is not probable that it ex- 

 tends its range far south of the extreme north of Patagonia. This is one 

 of the bush-building birds which construct covered nests, conspicuous for 

 their size, and entered by a small opening on the side. The birds appear 

 to have feeble powers of flight and are largely terrestrial, living in thickets 

 and rarely seen away from cover. Its native name is "Gallito." Mr. 

 Peters (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Ixv, No. 9, p. 310) writes: "This is a 

 common and very characteristic resident of the zone of the Grease Bush 

 in the valleys of the Rio Colorado and the Rio Negro. The appearance 

 of a stranger is greeted by a series of characteristic notes, difficult to de- 

 scribe, but once heard rarely forgotten. It is strictly terrestrial, the wings 

 being short, soft and rounded but the feet are large and well muscled. 

 The Gallito presents a ridiculous appearance when seen dashing from 

 cover to cover across a short open space, the tail is carried at an angle 

 of from 70 to 80 degrees; the greater the speed the greater the angle." 



W. H. Hudson writes: 'T found it exceedingly numerous in the thick- 

 ets near to the town of Carmen ; but following up the river it becomes 

 scarcer. It is in its habits an amusing bird, scarcely possessing the 

 power of flight, but so ready to take alarm, swift of foot, and fond of con- 

 cealment, that it is often very difficult to get sight of it. No sooner do 

 they spy out an intruder in the thicket than the alarm is spread, each 

 bird hopping up into a bush, and uttering incessantly, at intervals of 



