38 TANAGRID^E. 



feet brown : whole length 5-8 inches, wing 3-1, tail 2-2. Female above dark 

 brown, tinged with blue on the head and rump ; below like the male. 



Hab. South America from Venezuela to Paraguay and Northern 

 Argentina. 



This Tanager, which was found by Azara in Paraguay, occurs in 

 Tucuman. An adult male obtained by Herr Schulz in this province is 

 in the collection of Hans, Graf von Berlepsch. 



36. STEPHANOPHORUS LEUCOCEPHALUS (Vieill.). 



(WHITE-CAPPED TANAGER.) 



[PLATE IV.] 



Stephanophorus leucocephalus, ScL et Salv. Nomencl. p. 20 ; Durnford, Ibis, 

 1877, p. 170 (Buenos Ayres); White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 597 (Misiones); 

 Harrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. CL viii. p. 90 (Concepcion) j ScL Cat. B. xi. p. 143. 

 Stephanophorus cceruleus, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 480 (Parana). 



Description. Uniform deep blue; cap silky white, with a small crimson 

 crest ; bill brownish black, feet brown : whole length 7 inches, wing 4, tail 

 3*3. Female similar, but not quite so bright in colour. 



Hab. Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Northern Argentina. 



Azara gave the generic name Lindo (beautiful) to the Tanagers, and 

 this species he named the " Blue White-headed Beautiful," the entire 

 plumage being of a very lovely deep corn-flower blue, except a cap of 

 silvery-white feathers on the head, with a crimson spot on the forehead, 

 looking like a drop of blood. 



It is a summer bird in Buenos Ayres, where it makes its appearance 

 in spring in the woods bordering on the Plata river, and is usually seen 

 singly or in pairs. The nest is built in a tree ten or twelve feet from 

 the ground, and is somewhat shallow and lined with soft dry grass. 

 The female lays four eggs, white and spotted with deep red. During 

 incubation the male sits concealed in the thick foliage close by, amusing 

 itself by the hour with singing, its performance consisting of chattering 

 disconnected notes uttered in so low a tone as to make one fancy that 

 the bird is merely trying to recall some melody it has forgotten, or 

 endeavouring to construct a new one by jerking out a variety of sounds 

 at random. The bird never gets beyond this unsatisfactory stage, 

 however, and must be admired for its exquisite beauty alone. 



