AVES DENDROCOLAPTID^. 78 1 



PsEUDOSEisuRA GUTTURALis (d'Orbigny and Lafresnaye). 

 Aiiabatis gutturalis d'Orbigny, Voy. Amer. Merid. Ois. p. 257, pi. Iv. 

 fig- 3 (1835-1844) (Rio Negro, Patagonia). 



Description. — Adult male, 8768 P. U. O. C, Chubut, Patagonia, July 

 1897. Total length, 9.20 inches; wing, 4.34; culmen, .98; tail, 4.03; 

 tarsus, 1.32. Slightly crested, above uniform wood brown, primaries 

 with gray edgings ; tail darker brown, under parts pale brownish gray, 

 slightly washed with vinaceous on the under tail coverts and flanks ; 

 throat white with a narrow blackish band separating it from the fore neck. 



Geographical Range. — Argentina and northern Patagonia (Rio Negro, 

 Chubut Valley, etc.). 



Obtained by the Princeton party only in Chubut. 



Mr. Peters (Bull. M. C. Z. Ixv. no. 9, p. 318) reports it "not uncom- 

 mon in the region about Huanuluan and Maquinchao, frequenting the 

 sheltered or moister areas where the bushes grow more luxuriantly. In 

 habits somewhat jay-like and unlike most Tracheophones, this bird is 

 rather inquisitive. . . . The nest is a large domed structure generally 

 placed in a thorny bush and with a tunnel-entrance ; the nesting cavity 

 is usually lined with wool. The nests are very strongly built and force 

 is required to gain entrance." 



Hudson's account of this species is as follows: "This homely and in- 

 teresting bird frequents open plains abounding in low, thorny, and widely 

 scattered bushes, and on the approach of a traveller shows itself on the 

 summit of a bush, with crest erect, and uttering a succession of sharp, 

 angry chirps ; it also has, when much alarmed, a shrill, trilling scream 

 like that of the H. tmiriifus. They are seen in pairs or in families of 

 five or six individuals at intervals during the day ; the male and female 

 perform a chorus of notes so powerful that they may be heard distinctly 

 a mile away. Its flight is low and feeble; but it runs very rapidly on 

 the ground, and subsists principally on insects extracted from the earth, 

 and decayed bark about the roots of trees and shrubs. This bird builds 

 a nest extraordinary for its size and strength ; it is placed in the middle 

 of a low, thorny, and widely spreading bush ; it is perfectly round, the 

 lower part just raised only a few inches above the ground ; the depth of 

 the whole nest is usually from 4 to 5 feet, the cavity inside is i foot in 

 depth. The opening is on the side and small, and has in front of it a 

 narrow arched gallery resting on the horizontal twigs, and 13 or 14 inches 



