130 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



that when one becomes separated from his fellows 

 he will unite with birds of another kind, even with 

 Plovers or Tyrant-birds. 



On the great monotonous plains, where most of 

 the small birds are grey- or brown-plumaged, and 

 in winter when there are no flowers to satisfy the 

 desire of the eye for bright colour, it is delightful 

 while travelling to meet with an army of these 

 Starlings : their crimson bosoms, less bright than 

 the hues of some tropical species, seem then to glow 

 with a strange splendour on the sombre green of 

 earth, and the sight produces an exhilarating effect 

 on the mind. 



CHESTNUT-SHOULDERED HANG-NEST 



Icterus pyrrhopterus 



Uniform black; upper lesser wing-coverts chestnut; length 7.7 

 inches. Female similar but smaller. 



THIS interesting bird, the one member of the genus 

 Icterus found in the Argentine, ranges south to 

 Buenos Ayres, where it is migratory, and appears in 

 small flocks of six or eight individuals in Septem- 

 ber; but soon after arriving these little companies 

 break up, and the birds are subsequently found singly 

 or in pairs in the woods along the Plata River. 



The sexes are alike in colour, but the male is 

 considerably larger ; the whole plumage is an in- 

 tense black, excepting a rufous spot on the shoulder 



