Birds of Urvgvay. 191 



-^5. Ceryle amazona. Amazon Kingfisher. 



This was the rarest of the three Kingfishers I procured. 

 I met with it on only four occasions, viz., on 31st Deccmher 

 on the Sta. Ana Sauce, on the 3rd and 4th of April on the 

 Sta. Elena Sauce, and on the Monzon on the lltli ]\Iay. 

 Its alarm-note is a harsh, chattering cry. I have seen both 

 this and the next species hover over the water like a Kestrel. 



7Q. Ceryle aimericana. Little Kingfisher. 



Much more abundant than the other species and far from 

 uncommon. Its note is similar to that of the last-named 

 species, but weaker. 



77. GuiRA PTRiRiGUA. Guira Cuckoo. 



The '^ Parincho,^^ as it is called, is quite common and a 

 familiar bird about quintas. In October they used to sit in 

 pairs, touching one another, on the barer branches of the 

 trees ; sometimes two or three pairs close together. Mean- 

 while they made a chattering noise rather like young Hawks, 

 and now and then a male raised his head and produced a 

 series of far-sounding cries, beginning high and dropping 

 gradually — very resonant, '' j^ee-ip, pee-ip, pee-ip, pj^-ow, 

 pe-oiv,jie-choiv." The cries of the " Parinchos,^^ indeed, were 

 one of the most familiar sounds at that season, and as I write 

 the syllables I seem for an instant transported back to those 

 dazzling spring days with their hot sun and cool breezes, and 

 all the brilliance of that crystal air. I do not think they 

 were breeding then ; and a set of five eggs procured for me 

 (hedge-sparrow blue, netted over, like a melon, with lines of 

 encrusted white) by Mr. Burgess at the end of November 

 was quite fresh. It is sometimes called the ^'Urraca." 



78. CoNURus LEUcoPHTHALMUS, Wliite-eycd Parrot *. 



I found this fine Parrot only in the valley of the Rio 



* [This species is not iucluded in 'Argentine Ornithology,' and, so far 

 as I know, has never been recorded among the birds of Uruguay. But it 

 is probably the " Maracann verde'' of Azara (Apimt. i. p. 415), and it 

 was obtained by II. H. Smith at Chapada, in Matto Grosso (Allen, Bull. 



A. M. V. p. 140), and by Joyuer in Eio Grande do Sid. See Salvad. Cat 



B. XX. p. 188.— P. L. S.] 



