WHITE-CAPPED TANAGER 43 



equal the Tanagers in this respect. Another difference 

 is that while wearing a more brilliant dress they are 

 less musical. They have not wholly forgotten that 

 they are song birds ; they all sing " after a fashion/' 

 but it is rare to find a species possessing a song 

 comparable in beauty to that of the best singers in 

 the Finch family. 



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 cornflower 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 border- 

 ing 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 endea- 

 vouring 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 lovely colouring alone. 



