108 ICTERID.E. 



attempt to swim. After fishing it out it continued to sing at intervals 

 in my hand : how strange it was to hear this bleeding captive bird 

 warbling out soft, sweet notes which seemed to express only pleasant 

 emotions ! Yet it was evident that the bird was fully alive to its 

 danger, for it struggled violently to escape and bit my finger savagely 

 with its sharp beak. 



I subsequently found a nest ; it was about seven inches deep, com- 

 posed entirely of lichens gathered from the boles of trees, ingeniously 

 woven together and suspended from the small twigs and leaves at the 

 extremity of a branch. There were no eggs in it, but the birds 

 fluttered in great trouble about me, and, what greatly surprised me, 

 uttered a variety of singing notes, unlike their usual song, but many 

 of them closely resembling the notes of other songsters, which made 

 me think that this Icterus possesses the mimicking faculty to some 

 extent. This, however, is a question it would be difficult to decide. 

 It seems certain, however, that this species is incapable of expressing 

 any distressing feeling, such as pain, fear, or parental anxiety, with 

 loud harsh notes like other birds. It is much to be regretted that 

 Azara, who found this species common in Paraguay, did not pay more 

 attention to its habits and language, which make it specially interesting 

 even in a family so rich in strange habits as the Icterida. 



106. APHOBUS CHOPI (Vieffl.). 

 (CHOPI BOAT-TAIL.) 



Chopi, Azara, Apunt. i. p. 282. Aphobus chopi, Scl. Cat. B. xi. p. 405. 

 Psarocolius unicolor, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 494 (Mendoza). 



Description. Uniform black, slightly resplendent; bill and feet black; 

 lower mandible sulcated : whole length 9'2 inches, wing 5*2, tail 4-0. Female 

 similar, but smaller and duller ; bill not sulcated. 



Hab. S. Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. 



The Chopi, which is said to be quite common in Paraguay, is only 

 found in the north-eastern part of the Argentine Republic, consequently 

 I have never seen it, except as a cage-bird ; nor is there anything about 

 it in the notes of recent collectors and travellers who have visited the 

 upper waters of the Plata. This is, however, not to be regretted, since 

 Azara gave a very full and spirited account of this species in his 

 t Apuntamientos ;' although it certainly does seem strange that the 

 Chopi should have had two careful observers of its habits fully a 

 century ago, namely, Azara and his friend and fellow-naturalist the 



