YELLOW HOUSE-SPARROW 61 



utter a low, soft, trilling note ; and when the nest 

 is approached they break out into long, somewhat 

 reedy notes, resembling those of the Canary, ex- 

 pressive of alarm or curiosity. 



There is but one other Siskin in Argentina, the 

 Half-black Siskin, C. atrata, found in Bolivia and 

 North- West Argentina, but of its habits and language 

 nothing has been recorded. 



YELLOW HOUSE-SPARROW 



Sycalis pelzelni 



Above yellowish olive-green, the back sparsely striped with blackish ; 

 wing- and tail-feathers black, edged with yellow ; forehead bright 

 orange, the rest of the head like the back ; below bright yellow ; 

 under surfaces of wings and tail also yellow; length 5.4 inches. 

 Female dull brownish grey mottled with blackish above ; under sur- 

 face whitish grey, striped with dusky brown on the breast; wing- 

 and tail-feathers edged with yellow. 



THE Yellow " House-Sparrow/' as this species is 

 called, is the town-bird of Buenos Ayres, but does 

 not multiply greatly, nor is he familiar with man, 

 like his rough, sooty-plumaged, far-away London 

 relation. 1 



The forehead of the male is bright orange, the 

 prevailing colour of the entire plumage yellow, 

 clouded with other hues. The female is grey, marked 



1 Alas ! since this was first written in 1888 the " far-away " relation has 

 invaded Buenos Ayres, and as in so many other countries has become a pest. 

 One result of its appearance has been the vanishing of the pretty and 

 engaging Yellow House-Sparrow. 



