PTEROPTOCHID.E. 205 



This species is very common in the eastern provinces of Argentina, 

 and extends south to Buenos Ayres. It is a shy, solitary bird, found in 

 woods and thickets along the shores of La Plata ; and utters occasionally 

 a singular low rasping note, its only language. The nest is a slight 

 shallow structure placed in a low tree ; the eggs are white, thinly 

 spotted with reddish brown. Probably this species is to some extent 

 migratory, as I have only observed it in the summer season. 



Fam. XIX. PTEROPTOCHID^E, OR TAPACOLAS. 



The Pteroptochidse form a small but very peculiar family of Tra- 

 cheophonine Passeres, mostly restricted to Chili and the south-western 

 extremity of the South-American Continent, but also represented in the 

 Andes of Ecuador and Colombia and in the high plateau of Central 

 Brazil. They are ground-birds, remarkable for their large and robust 

 feet with long claws, their strangely formed bills, and the elevated 

 position in which the tail is carried in the living bird. 



In the Argentine Republic four species of Pteroptochidse are known 

 to occur, only one of which, however, is a well-known bird. Two of 

 the remaining three are recent discoveries, and the fourth a Chilian 

 species, which extends over the Andes into the western borders of 

 Argentina. 



226. SCYTALOPUS SUPEKCILIARIS, Cab. 

 (WHITE-EYEBROWED SCYTALOPUS.) 



Scytalopus superciliaris, Cab. Journ. f. Orn. 1883, p. 105, t. ii. fig. 3 

 (Tucuman). 



Description. Nearest to S. indigoticus of Brazil, but without the white 

 colour on the breast and belly, only the throat being clear white ; superciliaries 

 striped white ; front and sides of the head and neck, breast and belly grey ; rest 

 of the upper surface, together with the flanks and crissum, light brown, with 

 fine blackish cross-markings ; bill blackish, feet light-coloured. 



Hob. Sierra of Tucuman. 



This species is one of Schulz's recent discoveries in the Sierra of 

 Tucuman, where he found it west of Sauciyaca, frequenting the deep 

 ravines. 



