376 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of [Ibis, 



of surprises, for^ in an open part o£ tlie same paddock, my 

 attention was drawn to an attack by a very large nocturnal 

 moth {Erebia odora ?) on a Chingolo Sparrow [Zonotrichia 

 pileata) — a most Homeric combat, all in the bright 

 sunlight : an incident related in my former paper. But 

 especially in defence of its nest is the Calandria's bravery 

 exhibited. It scolds angrily, and will approach quite close 

 to the trespasser. Once I found a pair nesting in a quince- 

 tree at a singularly isolated " puesto " on the Atlantic 

 seaboard, where the Puestero — a warden of the fences — 

 was absent all the day, and the two or three species of 

 wood-birds inhabiting the few trees of the garden were little 

 accustomed to the sight of man. The Calandrias vehemently 

 disputed my intrusion, and one of them (the female) kept 

 pace with my hand as I parted the branches to reach the 

 nest, which was just on the level of my eyes. I reached 

 the edge on the one side simultaneously Avith the bird on the 

 other, and had only time to feel there were two eggs when 

 my hand got a violent and quite sufficiently painful peck 

 from the feathered fury. My curiosity was more than 

 satisfied, and I beat a retreat. 



The nesting-season begins eaily in October, when the first 

 eggs are laid, and extends to the end of the fiist week in 

 November, being most general in the second half of the 

 former month. I have seen a couple of nests with eggs at 

 the end of November, and actually noted one on the 10th of 

 January ; but these are marked exceptions to the general 

 rule. The bulk are placed in Tala trees (frequently isolated 

 or apart from the main woods), Coronillo trees, Elder trees, 

 or bushes ; and, in the garden. Quince or Poplar trees. 

 There is not much attempt at concealment, and, indeed, the 

 scolding activity of the birds betrays the cause of their con- 

 cern. I have known of a nest in an Elder bush only one foot 

 from the ground, and another in a Poplar at the height of 

 ten feet; btit the general average is about five. 



The nest itself is strongly built on the outside of thorny 

 twigs from the Tala tree, followed by dry roots of grass and 

 occasionally some avooI or moss (in many cases this is mixed 



