AV^ES PTEROPTOCHID^. 753 



the bird are thoroughly known to a collector he may act on this as a 

 means of getting a shot. I found, where plentiful in the forests near Rio 

 Bueno, that the birds often seated themselves on the top of the qidla and 

 commenced this note. There were usually a pair together, as it was the 

 breeding season, and they probably had a nest near. I used to creep 

 gradually on to them, with as little noise as possible (though in such dense 

 growth this usually amounts to a good deal, in spite of all precautions), and 

 generally got a shot, but invariably had to go very close ; otherwise I could 

 not see them at all, and indeed I seldom saw one openly; but one gets 

 used to catching a glimpse of them through the bush, and they are easily 

 killed. They appear to feed exclusively on insects, which they search for 

 on the ground, amongst the decayed vegetable matter, scratching a good 

 deal like gallinaceous birds. I was told that they nest in a hole burrowed 

 in the ground, and lay two eggs." (Birds of Chili, Ibis, pp. 42-44, 1897.) 



Family Dendrocolaptid/E. 



Sclater, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xv. p. 2 (1890); Sharpe, Hand-List Bds. iii. 

 p. 45(1901). 



Subfamily Furnariin^. 



Sclater, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xv. p. 3 (1890) ; Sharpe, Hand-List Bds. iii. 

 p. 45 (1901). 



Genus GEOSITTA Swainson. 



Type. 



Geositta Sw. Class. B. ii. p. 317 (1837); Sclater, Cat. 

 Bds. Brit. Mus. xv. p. 5 (1890); Sharpe, Hand-List 



Bds. iii. p. 45 (190 1 ) G.ciiniciilaria. 



Geobamon Burm. J. F. O. viii. p. 249 (i860) G. rnfipenuis. 



Geographical Range. — Peru, Bolivia, Chili ; Argentina and Patagonia 

 to the Straits of Magellan ; Tierra del Fuego. 



Geositta cunicularia cunicularia (Vieill.). 

 (Plate II) 

 Alauda cunicitlayia Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. I, p. 369 ( 1818) Rio de la Plata. 



Description. — Male adult, P. U. O. C. 7771, Punta Arenas, Chili, De- 

 cember 13, 1897, J- B. Hatcher. Total length, 6.15 inches; wing, 3.92; 

 culmen, .65 ; tail, 2.42 ; tarsus, .95. Vinaceous brown above (wood brown 



