tgig.] Capo San Antonio, Buenos Ay res. 49!?' 



ground, there was always every probability of a find. 

 These situations contain an infinite number of analogous 

 little bunches composed of dead Coronillo leaves bound 

 together b}^ spider-filaments (being indeed the home of 

 one of these insects), and I have not infrequently passed 

 a quarter of an hour, crouched or kneeling under the tree, 

 systematically scanning or examining each of these objects 

 with care (for the Coronillo is cruelly thorny), and en- 

 couraged in my quest by the sharp needle-like " zipp ^' 

 uttered by the bird as it occasionally sped past unseen — 

 only to find that the nest had actually been within a few 

 inches of my face all the time ! 



My earliest nest is one of the 2ith of October ; of 

 four taken in the last week of that month, one contained 

 much-incubated eggs, showing that they were approxi- 

 mately laid about the middle of October. Up to the middle 

 of November the occurrences are general, after which there 

 appears a break lasting until the middle of the month of 

 December ; this again is followed by a fresh start, which 

 continues the laying-season until the middle of January. 

 Occasionally the bird sits very close, for it is a fearles^s 

 creature. 



The newly-hatched young are repulsive-looking things, 

 resembling small, black, hairy caterpillars. \\ ho would 

 connect these objects, lying in a fairy cradle, with the 

 future flashing jewels — gifted with a mobility that is 

 apparently less an action of flight than an exercise of 

 volition ? 



The following is the description of a typical nest : — 

 Attached to two twigs. Outside measurement at top l^ in. 

 (35 mm.) by I^ in. (32 mm ) deep ; inside, | in. (22 mm.) 

 by I in. (16 mm.). Built of fine wool, moss, lichens, etc. ; 

 the outside disguised with small dark leaves and fragments 

 of bark, cunningly field in place with spiders' webs ; lined 

 Avith thistledown. 



The two eggs are pure white, much elongated, and with 

 equally rounded ends. They average 13x8 mm. 



