8lO PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS: ZOOLOGY. 



Genus PYROCEPHALUS Gould. 



Type. 



Pyrocephalits Gould, Zool. Voy. Beagle, iii. p. 44 (1839). 



P. parvirostris G\d. + Mitscicapa covonata Gmel. = P. rubimis. 

 Geographical Range. — America, from the southwestern United States, 

 Mexico, Central and South America to Argentina and the Galapagos 

 Islands. 



Pyrocephalus rubinus rubinus (Boddaert). 



M2iscicapa rubinus Boddaert, Tabl. de PI. Eul. p. 42 (Brazil). 

 Muscicapa coronata Gmelin, Syn. Nat. i. p. 932. 

 Pyrocephalus nanus Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, p. 46 (Ecuador). 

 Pyrocephalus parvirostris Gould, Voy. Beagle, iii. p. 44, pi. vi. 

 Muscipita strigilata Maximilian Beitr. iii. p. 900. 



Description.— MuW. male, P. U. O. C., La Plata, February, 1898. Total 

 length, 5.12 inches; wing, 3.10; culmen, .40; tail, 2.28; tarsus, .60. 

 Above bister, outer webs of secondaries and outermost tail feathers very 

 narrowly edged with whitish ; entire crown and under parts scarlet red, 

 a broad brown stripe through the eye to the hind neck, feet and bill black. 

 Adult female lighter grayish brown on the head and back, feathers some- 

 what varied with darker centers or shaft lines ; below white of breast and 

 sides broadly streaked with cinereous, crissum pale orange. 



Geographical Range. — Colombia to Argentina and northern Patagonia (?). 



W. H. Hudson has published a full account of this bird in La Plata : 

 "The Churinche [Pyrocephalus rubineus) is a common species in the 

 neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Its brilliant plumage and remarkable song 

 make it one of the best known of our summer visitors. But the naturalist 

 will find in the peculiarity of its migratory habits a far more interesting sub- 

 ject of contemplation. It is commonly called ' Churinche ' from its note ; 

 also 'Federal,' from its predominating hue being the favourite colour of 

 the political party (now happily extinct) of that name. The Churinche 

 appears about the end of September, and is usually first seen in localities 

 to which the Tyrantbirds and Taeniopteras are also partial, such as low 

 grassy grounds, with here and there a stalk or bush, and near a wood or 

 plantation. Insects are most abundant in such places; and here the 

 Churinche is seen, perched on a twig, darting at intervals to snap at flies 

 after the fashion of the Flycatchers, and frequently uttering his low, plain- 

 tive, and mellow note. This bird is very common in the woods along the 



