MARSH-BIRDS. 



13 



Republic, whence I imported a male in 1893. Like 

 the Bobolink, it is a migratory bird, and in its method 

 of nesting and the colouring of its eggs, of which, how- 

 -ever, four seems to be the normal number, it seems 

 nearly to approach that bird, as also in the rapid part 

 of its* song : excepting when paired, also, the males and 

 females travel in different small flocks. Hudson 

 describes the song as follows : " At intervals of two 

 or three minutes he soars vertically up to a height of 

 twenty or twenty-five yards to utter his song, com- 

 posed of a single long, powerful, and rather musical 

 note, ending with an attempt at a flourish, during which 

 the bird flutters and turns about in the air ; then, as 

 if discouraged at his failure, he drops down, emitting 

 harsh guttural chirps, to resume his stand." 



The flourish described by Mr. Hudson consists of a 

 number of short, rapid, stopper-screwing, and scissor- 

 grinding notes, which are anything but musical ; hap- 

 pily they do not last long. The best part of the song, 

 which I noted as my bird sang, was as follows : 

 " Tetser-ur-ching, tetser-ur-cking, tiJc-kcrtchard ; the 



ching was very metallic, as is the toong-toong in the 

 song of the Bobolink. 



At first sight one would take this bird for a Military 

 "Troupial, of which it is almost an exact copy, only the 

 form of the beak is Weaver-like. 



When alarmed in an aviary, I noticed that both this 

 bird and the Military Starling crouched low down on the 



earth, evidently trying to conceal the brilliant crimson 

 on their throats and breasts. The Red-breasted Marsh- 

 bird seems to be essentially a ground species, very rarely 

 perching, and only flying up to sing or when suddenly 

 startled. 



THE RED-HRKASTED MARSH-BIRD. 

 (Male in Winter Plumage,) 



In a cage the Red-breasted Marsh-bird is a misery to 

 himself and a source of irritation to the owner, for he 

 is the wildest and most nervous bird I ever had. In an 

 aviary, however, he is far happier, especially if supplied 

 with plenty of cockroaches, of which he is inoi'dinately 

 fond. He should have the same seeds as the Bobolink. 



GUIANA MARSH-BIRD (Lelstes guianensis), 



Male brownish-black ; bend of wing and under-surface 

 of body to the middle of the abdomen scarlet. Female 

 above pale brown, varied with black ; tail ashy-brown, 

 with black transverse bands : below pale brown ; the 

 middle of breast and abdomen washed with scarlet; 

 flanks, lower abdomen and vent streaked with black. 

 Hab., Veragua and south-ward over Colombia, Vene- 

 .zuela, Trinidad. Guiana, and Amazonia. (P. L. Sclater.) 



Between the years 1879 and 1884 Mr. Henry Whitely 

 obtained this species on Mount Roraima at an elevation 

 of 3,500 feet (cf. The Ibis, 1885. p. 218). 



Dr. EmiJ A. Goeldi (The Ibis, 1897, p. 164, says : "In 

 the low campos-grass behind the ' sitio ' I was much 

 pleased to meet with the splendid Leistes guianensis, 

 with its -bright crimson breast-cloth ; it is called " Tem- 

 tem do Espirito santo " or " Policia Ingleza," alike, over 

 'all Lower Amazonia." 



Mr. W. L. S. Loat (The Ibis, 1898, p. 562) observes : 

 " The ' Robin ' (Leistes guianensis) is common in the 

 fields and pastures of the colony. It has a peculiar 

 habit of flying up into the air to the height of about 

 twenty-five feet ; then, drawing its wings close to its 

 side, it shoots obliquely downward, uttering a loud, 

 chirping kind of song, whether done from exuberance 

 of spirits or to charm its mate, which is generally some- 

 where near, I cannot say. The crimson breast of an 

 adult male is of a most beautiful tint, and is well shown 

 when he performs this aerial movement." 



That is all that I can discover respecting the wild life, 

 but it probably corresponds pretty closely with that of 

 L. supcrciliaris, 'which has been very fully described by 

 Mr. Hudson in the "Argentine Ornithology." 



Mr. E. W. Harper imported specimens of this species 

 in 1906, and presented two to the London Zoological 

 Society ; a third became the property of Mr. W. T. 

 Page, and there were probably others. These specimens 

 were spoken of under the same trivial name as the 

 Argentine bird, which is confusing ; I have therefore 

 omitted the words Red-breasted, and included the word 

 Guiana. (In the Zoological Society's List the name 

 stands " Red -breasted Guiana Marsh-bird," which is 

 too long.) 



YELLOW-HEADED MARSH-BIRD (Xanthocef>halus 

 xanthoce ph al us ) . * 



Black ; a conspicuous white patch on the upper wing- 

 coverts ; .head all round, fore-neck and breast, orange- 

 yellow ; lores, orbital region, front of cheeks and chin, 

 black; anal tuft yellow; irides brown ; whole length 

 9 inches. Female much smaller ; sooty-brown ; no white 

 wing patch ; the yellow on head duller bufnsh, and con- 

 fined to the eyebrow, sides of head and breast, the 

 latter more ochraceous ; chin and throat whitish, orange 

 behind ; breast mottled brownish, yellow at sides ; chest 

 and abdomen brown, streaked with whitish ; anal tuft 

 yellowish ; bill smaller and more slender ; irides brown. 

 " Hab., Prairies of North America, from California and 

 the Saskatchewan down to Southern Mexico " (P. L. 

 Sclater). "Florida, Cuba, and even to Greenland." 

 (Ridgway.) 



J. G. Cooper observes (" Ornithology of California," 

 p. 269) : " They associate in flocks with the other Black- 

 birds, but also keep in separate bands, and fly with 

 such regularity that their yellow heads often show all 

 at once as they wheel in their aerial evolutions. Some- 

 times also the sexes fly in separate flocks before the 

 pairing season. They are very gregarious even in spring 

 and summer, and seem to build in company. The only 

 eong the male attempts consists of a few hoarse, 

 chuckling notes and comical squeakings, uttered as if 

 with a .great effort to make any noise at all. Though 

 some kept about the marsh at Santa Barbara, in which 

 were the nests of the Red-wings, I could not find theirs. 

 According to Heermann, the nest is composed of dry 

 reeds and grasses, attached to the upright stalks of 



* This is the name first given to the species, and Professor 

 Hids*way has rightly restored it; Dr. Sclater disapproved of the 

 duplication and called the speciee longipes. 



