FINCHES. 



131 



white patch at end of inner web ; crown uniform dull 

 yellow ; lores dusky ; orbital region yellow ; ear-coverts 

 olive-yellow; cheeks and -under surface bright yellow, 

 slightly greener on lower throat, sides, and na.nks ; 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries olive-yellow, dusky 

 at baise; nights below dusky, with ashy inner edges. 

 Female browner ; the whole upper surface streaked with 

 black ; rump paler and more olivaceous ; wing-feathers 

 with ashy borders : sides of head uniform brown ; body 

 below sulphur yellow, whiter on throat; chest .and 

 flanks browner streaked with blackish. Hab., Brazil, 

 Guiana, and Colombia. 



So far as I have been able to discover, very little 

 seems to be known respecting the habits of Psvudo- 

 cMoris; one species (P. lutea) is said to feed upon seeds 

 and buds, but that is the only information that I have 

 gleaned from many books. The genus used to be con- 

 founded with tiycalis. 



Two specimens of this bird, from Venezuela, were 

 presented to the London Zoological Society by Capt. 

 Albert Pam in November, 1906. 



GAY'S FINCH (Phrygilus gayi). 



Mantle and upper back orange-brown, scapulars yel- 

 lower, suffused with greenish externally; lower back 

 and rump clear yellow ; lesser wing-coverts dark green- 

 ish-grey, median and greater coverts clear slate- 

 grey, as also the upper tail-coverts; other wmg^aiid 

 tail feathers blackish with slate-grey outer margins; 

 back and sides of neck olive-greenish; a narrow frontal 

 line, lores, and orbital feathers slate blackish ; ear- 

 coverts, cheeks, and throat paler and more pearly grey ; 

 rest of under surface bright yellow , slightly olivaceous 

 below throat and rather paler on lower breast and 

 abdomen ; thighs slate-grey ; under taii : coverts gene- 

 rally white, the longer ones however with slate-grey 

 centres ; under wing-coverts white and axillaries pale 

 yellow, both with ashy bases ; nights below dusky, with 

 whitish inner edges ; beak lead-coloured, feet brown, 

 irides red to black. Female altogether paler, the flanks 

 ashy-brown. Habitat, Chili, Patagonia, and Argentina. 

 Of specimens of this specdes obtained on the " Chal- 

 lenfer " Expedition, the stomachs were said to contain 

 sand and grubs. (Vide P.Z.S., 1878, p. 432.) 



Mr. A. A. Lane (The Ibi*, 1897, pp. 16, 17) says: 

 " I did not observe these Finches until I went to the 

 province of Arauco, north of which they do not occur 

 on the lowlands ; at least, so I was told. They are 

 more plentiful in the south, especially in Chiloe, and 

 on the adjacent mainland. Their local name is ' Chan- 

 chito ' (' little pig '). 



" They resemble P. atricepx very closely, and might 

 be mistaken for them by a casual observer. P. atriceps 

 is somewhat larger, and dts deep black head distin- 

 guishes it, this part being in P. gayi of a dark slate- 

 colour. Even their notes appear identical, though I 

 heard the male of P. gayi utter a sim,ple melody on r, 

 few occasions during summer, which performance I did 

 not notice in the other species. In Southern Chili the 

 present species feeds a great deal on the ground under- 

 neath bushes. 



" The favourite haunts of there birds are> the sides of 

 ravines or abrupt hollows, covered wdth thick bush of 

 a seed-bearing nature, and small cliffs covered with 

 creepers. They do not occur on open stretches, but are 

 often numerous in partially cleared localities, where 

 coppice has taken the place of the large timber pre- 

 viously cut down or burnt. I never could find thedr 

 nests. I frequently saw them in confinement, in aviaries. 

 When crossing the Andes, from Santiago to Mendoza, I 

 found this bird numerous on the Argentdne side, where 

 it feeds on the ground on the barren mountain-slopes." 



According to Landbeck, the call-note is tchi'p, and the 

 song teet tweey often repeated. (See also Crawshay, 

 " Birds of Tierra del Fuego.") 



This pretty species has been exhibited at the London 

 Zoological Gardens. 



ORCHARD FINCH (Phryyilu--s fruticeti). 



General colour slate-grey ; the crown, nape, mantle, 

 and back streaked wdth black ; rump and upper tail- 

 coverts paler grey, the latter with shait streaks and tips 

 black ; lesser wing-coverts black, edged with ,pale grey ; 

 median coverts black, the ddstai half of the outer web 

 white ; greater coverts black, narrowly edged with, 

 pale grey and tipped with white; remainder 01 

 wing-feathers and tail-feathers black, narrowly edged 

 with pale grey ; eyelids white ; forehead, lores, 

 chin, throat, and breast black; sides of body, 

 flanks, and thighs slate-grey ; centre of abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts white, the latter somewhat bumsh. 

 with narrow black shaft-streaks ; axillaries slate-grey ; 

 under wing-coverts blackish with slate-grey edges ; beak 

 yellowish flesh-colour ; feet brownish flesh-colour ; irides 

 dark hazel. Female with head, neck, and back dull 

 grey, washed wdth brownish and streaked with dark 

 brown; rump and upper tail-coverts pale greyish- 

 brown ; scapulars like the mantle, but edged with 

 rufous ; lesser wing-converts grey ; median coverts dark 

 brown with distal half of outer web white; greater 

 coverts dusky, edged wdth bufnsh-grey and with tips of 

 outer webs dull white; flights dull brown, with ashy- 

 brownish edges ; tail blackish-brown, the outer and two- 

 central feathers paler; tips of first to fourth feathers 

 whitish, as well as the base of the outer webs ; eyebrow- 

 stripe, lores, cheeks, chin, and throat whitish, .blackish 

 at base of feathers; ear-coverts rufescent ; malar ^streak, 

 breast, sides and flanks dusky greyish-brown with fine 

 brown streaks ; flank and under tail-coverts buffish ; 

 centre of breast and abdomen whitei ; axillaries and 

 under wing-coverts ashy; under surface of flights 

 brownish ; beak brown, paler on lower mandible ; feet 

 brownish flesh-coloured; irides brown. Habitat. 

 Andes of Chili and Patagonia, extending to Peru and 

 Bolivia. 



Mr. W. H. Hudson ("Argentine Ornithology," Vol. I.,. 

 p. 54) observes : " Though not possessing any bright 

 tints, it is a very charming bird, tuneful, elegant in 

 form, graceful and buoyant in its motdons. When ap- 

 proached it utters a series of low ticking sounds, and at 

 intervals a peculiar long squealing note. The song of 

 the male is very agreeable, and curiously resembles that 

 of the Cachila Pijpit (Anllius correndera). It usually 

 sits on a twig near the ground, and at intervals soars 

 up to a height of ten or twenty yards, and utters its 

 song while gliding slowly downwards with depressed 

 wings and outspread tail. It sings throughout the 

 year; in bright weather its notes are heard all day 

 long, but on cold, cloudy, or wet days only after sunset. 

 In "the warm season they live in pairs, and in the 

 autumn unite in flocks of as many as two or three hun- 

 dred dndividuals, and have a. strong undulating flight. 



E. Bartlett (" Monogr. Weavers and Finches ") quotes, 

 the following note by Mr. H. Durnford : " Common ab 

 Chupat throughout the spring and summer, and often 

 seen during our journey in the valleys : it never wanders 

 far from water. On the 20th September I took a nest 

 on the hills near the colony ; it was a very neat structure 

 of wool, feathers, and the flowers of a grass, and placed 

 in the centre of a thick bush, about a foot above the 

 ground. It contained two eggs, of a pale green ground- 

 colour, thdckly marked with dull chocolate spots and' 

 streaks." 



The food, according to Prof. W. Xation (cf. P.Z.S.,. 



