SWALLOW-LIKE TYRANT 149 



rufous, with dark lines on throat and bosom. The 

 chestnut hue in the female is paler and mixed with 

 grey. 



SWALLOW-LIKE TYRANT 



Fluvicola albiventris 



Above black ; front half of head, narrow band across the rump, 

 and slight edgings to wing-coverts and outer secondaries white ; 

 below white ; bill and feet black ; length 5.5 inches. 



THIS small black-and-white Tyrant is not uncommon 

 in the marshes and on the river-margins in the Plata 

 district, its spring migration extending south to 

 Buenos Ayres. Like the Kingfisher, it haunts the 

 waterside and is found nowhere else. It has a shy, 

 retiring disposition, concealing itself in the close 

 thickets overhanging a stream, so that one does not 

 often see it, notwithstanding its conspicuous white 

 plumage. When disturbed it emits a series of low 

 ticking notes, or darts swiftly out from the thicket, 

 showing itself for a moment over the water before 

 disappearing once more into a hiding-place. When 

 thus seen darting above the surface it has a strikingly 

 Swallow-like appearance. 



D'Orbigny says it makes a purse-shaped nest, of 

 slender twigs, moss, and feathers neatly interlaced, 

 and lays four white eggs, spotted at the large end with 

 brown. 



