MIMUS MODULATOR. 5 



with black ; middle of belly and crissum white ; bill and feet pale yellow : total 

 length 7'6 inches, wing 4'4, tail 3-5. Female olive-brown, paler below, chin 

 pale ochraccous; middle of belly and crissum white; bill brown, feet yellowish. 



Hab. Peru, Bolivia, and Northern La Plata. 



Met with by Dr. A. Doring and Herr Sclmlz on the Sierra of Cordova. 



6. MIMUS MODULATOE, Gould. 

 (CALANDRIA MOCKING-BIRD.) 



Mimus modulator, Sharpe, Cat. B. \i. p. 347. Mimus calandria, Burm. 

 La-Plata Rcise, ii. p. 475 ; Scl. et Sato. Nomencl. p. 3 ; Hudson, P. Z. S. 

 1870, p. 89 (Buenos Ayres) ; Durnford, Ibis, 1877, p. 167 (Buenos Ayres) ; 

 White, P. Z. S. 1883, p. 37 (Cordova) ; Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl. viii. 



p. 85 (Concepcion). 



Description. Above dark grey, faintly mottled with pale grey ; rnmp tinged 

 with brown ; wings nearly black, the feathers edged with brownish white ; tail 

 black, the feathers, except the two middle ones, broadly tipped with white ; 

 under surface dirty white ; bill and legs black ; eye olive-green : total length 

 11*0 inches, wing 4-5, tail 4'9. Female similar. 



Hab. Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentine Republic. 



Azara has not failed to remark that it would be well to find a more 

 appropriate name for this species, which was absurdly called ' ' Calandria" 

 (i. e. Sky- Lark) by the early colonists of the Plata. Use is, however, 

 too strong to be easily set aside, and the name is now familiar to every- 

 one in the Argentine Province. Moreover, by a curious irony of fate, the 

 Spanish naturalist himself, by employing this unsuitable name in his 

 ' Apuntamientos/ even while protesting against it, has been the cause 

 of its introduction into scientific nomenclature. 



It would be impossible to improve on the account Azara gives of the 

 bird's appearance and manners. The prevailing colour of the plumage 

 is grey, the irides are deep green, the beak black, slender, and curved. 

 The tail is long, jerked and elevated when the bird is at rest, spread 

 open and depressed in flight. The Calandria's movements are measured 

 and dignified, its flight low and never extends far, the bird usually 

 passing from one tree to another in a long graceful curve. It goes 

 alone or with its mate only ; feeds chiefly on the ground ; does not 

 penetrate into deep forests, nor is it seen on the treeless plains. It 

 frequents the borders of woods and open grounds abounding in isolated 

 shrubs and trees ; is fond of coming about houses, and invariably 

 perches itself on the most conspicuous places. It sings chiefly in 

 spring, and its really wonderful vocal powers have made it one of our 

 best-known and most-admired songsters. To sing it usually places 



