164 PHYTOTOMID^. 



175. PHYTOTOMA RUTILA, Vieill. 



(RED-BREASTED PLANT-CUTTER.) 



[PLATE VIII.] 



Phytotoma rutila, Burin . La-Plata Reise,\\. p. 451 (Parana, Mendoza, Cordova, 

 Tucuman, Catamarca) ; Scl. et Sah\ Nomencl p. 60 ; Hudson, P. Z. S. 1872, 

 p. 537 (Rio Negro) ; Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl. viii. p. 203 (Entrerios) ; 

 White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 609 (Catamarca). 



Description. Above plumbeous, with slight darker shaft-spots ; front of head 

 bright red ; wings and tail blackish, two well-marked wing-bars and tips of all 

 lateral rectrices white ; beneath bright red ; flanks plumbeous ; under wing- 

 coverts whitish : whole length 7'0 inches, wing 3-5, tail 3'3. Female : above 

 grey, densely striated with black ; beneath dirty white, with dense black stria- 

 tions, belly and crissum fulvous. 



Hob. Argentine Republic. 



I found this curious little bird quite common in Patagonia, where the 

 natives call it Chingolo grande, on account of its superficial resemblance 

 to the common Song-Sparrow (Zonotrichiapileata) . The colouring of the 

 sexes differs considerably, the forehead and under surface of the male 

 beiDg deep brick-red ; the upper parts dull grey, with a bar on the 

 wing and the tips of the rectrices white ; while in the female the upper 

 parts are yellowish grey, obscurely mottled, and the breast and belly 

 buff, with dark spots. In both sexes the eye is yellow, and the feathers 

 of the crown pileated to form a crest. 



This bird is usually seen singly, but sometimes associates in small flocks ; 

 it is resident, and a very weak flier, and feeds on tender buds and leaves, 

 berries and small seed. The male is frequently seen perched on the 

 summit of a bush, and, amidst the dull-plumaged species that people 

 the grey thickets of Patagonia, the bright red bosom gives it almost 

 a gay appearance. When singing, or uttering its alarm notes when the 

 nest is approached, its voice resembles the feeble bleatings of a small 

 kid or lamb. When approached it conceals itself in the bush, and 

 when flying progresses by a series of short jerky undulations, the wings 

 producing a loud humming sound. 



The nest is made in the interior of a thorny bush, and built somewhat 

 slightly of fine twigs and lined with fibres. The eggs are four, bluish- 

 green in colour, with brownish flecks. 



This species is found throughout the Argentine country, in dry, ouen 

 situations, abounding with a scanty tree and bush vegetation. 



